Affections From Across the Net
by NocturnaMajora
Summary: It just never goes according to plan for the North American Women's Youth volleyball team. Being foreigner athletes in Japan, Katharine and her teammates meet some unexpected trials on the court... And outside of it too. For captain Katharine, one of them is called Wakatoshi Ushijima and boy, did he ever embody the very definition of a challenge. Reviews are appreciated :)
1. A Slight Change of Plan

Katharine looked outside the airplane's window, trying not to fall asleep as she knew she would be landing in the Land of the Rising Sun soon. She had grabbed the headphones out of her bag she had placed under her seat and pulled out her phone. She inserted the earphones in her ears and turned on her smartphone device. Unlocking the screen, she immediately reached for the translation app she had downloaded a month prior, setting the preference translated language to Japanese.

Quickly, she added a few pre-set phrases to the software and it diligently translated what she typed in this foreign language she enjoyed to learn. She felt the head of the young woman sitting next to her fall on her shoulder and saw a horrible spot of drool on her black and white sports vest, soaking the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team sewn-on woven patch. She quickly pushed her off of her shoulder, grunting with displeasure.

'Really, Maria, get a grip. We're almost there. And stop drooling on me.' she said, abruptly waking up the smaller framed Mexican young woman. The Mexico City native groggily rubbed her eyes and groaned.

'Why'd you wake me up, _gatita_? Are we there yet?' asked the Mexican libero, slowly realizing that they were about to land soon.

'Not yet. You really should brush up on your Japanese, Maria. I doubt people there speak Spanish fluently. Or English for that matter. I'm not going to be your Rosetta Stone like last time. Remember the tournament in Russia? The only words that came out of your mouth were _spasiba_ and _vodka_. Then again, it's not surprising coming from you.' said the pale-skinned young woman with a small grin on her lips, her dark hair sliding over her shoulder as she continued to study. The caramel-skinned libero chuckled, straightening her curly dark waves.

'Duh, they're the only words one needs to know when going to Russia, smart pants. And you know damn well I can't manage a word of Japanese even if my life depended on it. I'm not a linguistics genius like you. And I just **love** to depend on you, _mami_.' she said, sloppily kissing the cheek of her fellow teammate, earning herself an angry groan from her now annoyed Canadian teammate Katharine and a chuckle from the row behind them. Maria turned around and looked over her seat, her eyes meeting with a pair of icy blue ones. The tall young woman sitting behind her had ridiculously long legs and a lean and toned body, quite opposite to her small framed and curvaceous figure. Maria frowned at the blond-haired young woman raised her chin in defiance.

'You think this is funny, Zofia?' Think you wanna laugh to my face this time?' she asked loudly, her fist in the air. The Polish-American spiker moved her head backward on her seat and sighed, removing her earplugs. She was not going to catch another wink of sleep anyway.

'What's funny to me is that a 5'2 little girl thinks she can intimidate _me_. Better luck next time, midget. That's _kobito _in Japanese by the way.' taunted Zofia with an arrogant smirk. Maria, like the majority of professional libero players, was of smaller stature than the rest of the members of her volleyball team. She couldn't possibly compare in height to the six-foot-tall, blond-haired and blue-eyed woman sitting in the seat behind her. But what she lacked in height, Maria had in spunk, intuition, and pure talent, something her teammates deeply admired and respected. The other tall young woman sleeping next to Zofia opened her green eyes and groaned, pushing her earplugs deeper inside her ears to block her Mexican teammate's loud voice.

'Honestly Maria, can you be any louder? Even the crying baby at the front isn't as loud as you. We're on a _plane_. There are people around you. Be considerate.' snapped their other tall American player and the team's official setter, her brown hair lazily sliding on her shoulders as she zipped her sports vest over her face to block out the light that kept her awake. Maria knew all too well that her Texan teammate Elizabeth was always in a very foul mood whenever she was tired from traveling (especially on planes- long legs have their own disadvantages). And Elizabeth didn't like traveling. It made her anxious, especially long trips. They had flown from New York after all and after two layovers, Dubai and Hong Kong, it was safe to assume that the women's volleyball crew was exhausted. Maria sighed loudly and sat back in her seat, her arms crossed and her eyes rolling, irritated. A signature pout decorated her lips.

'Bunch of snazzy _payasas_ \- **_ouch!_**' swore the Mexican libero under her breath before she felt a juice box crash against the back of her head from the rear of the plane. She growled angrily and turned around again, her eyes darting down the aisle at the second to last row where two other members of her team were sitting.

She saw the American Nigerian twins crack a laugh at her expense, giving her the middle finger from the back of the plane while laughing hysterically, annoying the other passengers around them. Arissa and Elia Nagwame were the best middle blockers in their category and some of the best defensive players in the youth's division on the North American continent. Not even the tallest of male players in the North American youth's division could rival the intuitive and deadly efficient blocking strategy that earned the twins the nickname of 'African Fortress'.

Standing at 6'3 and being the tallest members of their sports club, Arissa and Elia Nagwame were truly all-star players and tailored-made to play volleyball. They were also sought after as models by worldwide known magazines and agencies. No one could deny their beauty or their abilities as the absolute defensive wall of the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team. When they were placed side by side on the vanguard rotation as middle blockers, hardly any serves or spikes could pass over the net. All their opponents could see were tall arms and strong hands that blocked everything thrown on their side of the net.

But the twins' seriousness ended when they stepped outside of a volleyball court. Arissa and Elia made for a sassy, quirky duo, and Maria always found herself the target of their humorous antics. Arissa wiped tears of laughter away from her high cheekbones, Elia nudging her shoulder approvingly.

'Damn girl, that aim! You got her!' she snickered, Arissa clutching to her stomach from the laughter cramps.

'You'll regret that Arissa! Give me a ladder and my fist will pay a visit to your pretty face!' bellowed Maria, flipping the twins off and mumbling insults in Spanish that only she could understand. Maria Hernandez was always the butt of the joke of the club members but when it came to being a volleyball defensive specialist, she was deemed one of the best under-nineteen liberos on the continent. Her nimble and agile body moved quicker than lightning when it came to digging a falling ball and her technique was bested by no other. Out of all the players of their elite club, she had been playing volleyball the longest.

Her _abuelo_, considered a volleyball legend in his own time, had been teaching her the basics of the sport ever since she could walk. She had always wanted to become a libero from the time she set foot on a volleyball court, saying that the person keeping the ball in the air and off the ground was the most important player of all. Her height, for most, had been considered a weakness in the sport by many coaches and scouting agencies but Maria Hernandez had used it as her ultimate weapon. She used her small frame to her advantage, honing her pickup skills and agility until no other libero in her category could rival her. She truly was gifted. She would also officially be representing Mexico during the next summer Olympics and not being yet eighteen years old, she was already the pride of her country when it came to the sport.

Maria looked sideways and snickered when she saw Katharine scribbling down notes on a white napkin, trying desperately to learn some last-minute Japanese grammar.

'You know Katharine, for someone who whined about coming on this little trip from the start, you sure seem serious when it comes to the gritty details.'

'The only reason why I'm leaving home for two weeks and spending all of my time with you girls is that we'll get to train with Fuki Habarida, one of the Olympic coaches for Japan. He's the one overseeing this training camp. The man's a legend. That's all there is to it.' she said, eyes riveted on her smartphone's screen.

'You didn't have much of a choice to come, Katharine. You're our_ captain_. We wouldn't work as well as a team if it wasn't for your infinite wisdom and for those godforsaken fireballs you call spikes. And I know how you get when you're excited about seeing players from other countries play.' she said, nudging the Canadian spiker's arm. 'I've known you for a while now. Nothing gets your blood pumping like studying others' techniques. And since we'll be training with the All-Japan Girls team, you'll be able to stalk their play to your heart's content, you creepo.' she giggled. 'Just make sure you don't wear them out on the first day. Leave some for us, ok?'

Katharine smiled at the caramel-skinned libero. Ever since they met one another five years ago in a pan-American training camp, she and Maria had been best friends and their friendship transpired in the way they played volleyball together. Their respective sports agents had noticed the powerful connection they made during those middle school training camps and had been instructing their coaches to train them together whenever they could. Maria was intrepid and nimble and Katharine was strong and dedicated. Their positions on the court were complimentary. Maria kept the ball in the air and Katharine made sure to send it on the other side of the net with utmost precision and force.

Two years ago, Katharine and Maria were invited to the state of Texas to play as international students to a state volleyball tournament, where they met one of Texas's best setters, Elizabeth Smith. At first, Elizabeth's introverted and socially maladapted demeanor caused issues with the loud-mouthed Maria and the abrasively blunt Katharine as she was invited to join their practice sessions. But soon enough, the Mexican and Canadian players got to know the tall green-eyed setter as a genuinely caring and deeply focused individual that always aimed for perfection. They had learned to better communicate with her and saw Elizabeth's Aspergers as an asset to the team's gameplay. She was focused, deeply analytical, and always paid special attention to details whenever she set for Katharine, knowing the Canadian wing spiker liked a close-to-the-net set on a very fast tempo. Her intense green eyes were always a welcome sight on the court for them.

Then, a year ago, they were recruited in the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team and they were acquainted with Zofia Kowalski, the tall Polish-American spiker and the Nigerian American twins Arissa and Elia Nagwame. The recruiters for the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team were no fools when it came to the construction of this club- they looked for that hunger in their eyes, the passion behind their every move, the growing resilience and need to win with each game they played together. Although their team was not complete just yet, this core of players was fierce and had drawn the path for their future teammates to follow with them to victory. They have been a close-knitted group ever since, their strong bond increasing the trust and communication on the court.

And a month ago, Katharine, along with Maria, Elizabeth, Zofia, Arissa, and Elia received an invitation letter from the All-Japan Youth Girl's team's managers to come to the island nation and train for the upcoming youth World Tournament with their team. In a matter of days, the girls had packed their homework, their volleyball gear, and their cellphone chargers (the one fear in a teenage girl's heart is a low cell phone battery) and had said their goodbyes to their families and coaches who had to stay behind and all flew to New York to embark on a journey leading them east.

The turbulence that shook the plane woke Elizabeth from her frail slumber and she unzipped her sports vest covering her face, revealing her groggy complexion.

'I can't wait to get out of this flying lunch box. I hate planes.' she grumbled. Zofia chuckled.

'You're lucky you've been sleeping all this time. _You _didn't have to put up with your grumpy ass as I did for the past seven hours. I should be the one wanting off.' she said to Elizabeth, who shrugged off Zofia's sass with a groan.

'I can practically taste my crotch on this garden chair of a seat, Zofia. The only way for me to feel comfortable is to sleep and I can't seem to do that because your giraffe legs keep touching mine.' she said, letting her brown curls fall on her brow lazily as she looked outside the window to see nothing but blue skies and white clouds. Zofia let out a chuckle. Even when she was annoyed with the Texan setter, she always found her awkward and blunt sense of humor delightful and so very well placed.

Katharine felt a pull downwards from the plane. Soon, a voice could be heard throughout the cabin. _'Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you.'_

Maria smiled and squealed in excitement. 'This is it, Katharine! We're almost there. I can't wait to stretch my legs and show these Japanese _chikitas_ what real volleyball players can do.' Katharine smiled at Maria's enthusiasm. Katharine raised herself from her seat and turned her head towards the back, spotting Arissa and Elia at the rear of the plane. She waved at them, trying to catch their attention. Arissa raised her head when she heard her captain's voice and winked at her warmly.

'We'll land soon. Make sure you don't leave anything behind.' she signaled to them. Arissa and Elia responded with positive thumbs-ups. Before the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team knew, the plane descended towards the Land of the Rising Sun. Soon, the rumble of the landing could be felt in the cabin and when the plane wheels hit the ground, Katharine sighed in relief. She really had enough plane rides for a while. _'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Haneda Airport. On behalf of Japan Airlines and the entire crew, I'd like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you onboard again in the near future. Have a nice trip.'_

It was dark outside when the last of the girls' luggage sets were recovered by the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team and exhaustion could be felt in the team's morale. Not having their coaches around, it was Katharine, the captain of the team, who had been tasked to organize the club, their transport to Tokyo, and their training schedule. While the girls took a much-needed trip to the ladies' room to freshen up, Katharine logged on to the airport's wifi and immediately started translating on her linguistics application everything that she saw. From the post sign near the arrival gate to the inside shops' posters, she tried to acclimate to her surroundings as fast as she could. She suddenly felt very grateful for her parents' desire to push her into Japanese classes right before she left. There was already so much to see to this country, she thought. Everything was brightly lit up with beautiful colored lights inside.

Katharine smiled when she saw Maria, Zofia, Elizabeth, Arissa, and Elia running towards her, their pristine team tracksuit catching the gaze of locals who worked at the airport. Katharine couldn't help but notice the usually timid Elizabeth's face lighting up when she looked up to see the brightly colored lights on the airport's ceilings, her face illuminated with childish bewilderment. When all of them joined Katharine at the terminal gate, they all huddled next to her, awaiting further instructions from their captain. Katharine raised her head and looked for the Mexican libero, who was seemingly missing. 'Where is she, Zofia?' she asked, slightly concerned. Zofia shook her head and sighed deeply.

'She was hungry. _Again_.' was all she needed to say before Katharine grinned. _Oh Maria_, she thought.

'Katharine! There you are!' exclaimed the short volleyball player in the distance. Maria ran to her teammates with a cheap grin on her face as she held a stick with sticky dango from the shop she had just passed by. The Mexican libero took a bite and sighed, content.

'Ok, I'm sorry.' she continued with her mouth full. 'I should have listened to you when you talked about learning a little bit of the language. I can't read any of this gibberish.' she said, handing over some maps of the area to her captain. Arissa snickered.

'You can't read _at all_, Maria. But it's ok, you still have other um, talent_s_.' she said. Maria frowned.

'Bite me.' was all Maria replied before she saw Katharine's horrified face as the captain looked at her smartphone's screen, an expression of shock on her pale complexion.

'What's going on?' asked a worried Elia as she put a hand on Katharine's shoulder. A dissatisfied groan escaped the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team's captain's lips. _This is not good_, she thought. _Not good at all_. Her email application was still open when Katharine addressed the group of nervous teenagers in front of her.

'Ladies.' she started. 'Looks like there's a change of plan.' she continued. Already, Elizabeth was rolling her green eyes. 'I just received an email from the All-Japan Girls team's coach. They were asked to fly to Beijing to participate in a last-minute tournament.' she stared blankly at the horizon, the slight anger of uncertainty quickly catching up to her. Groans and whining of disapproval were heard coming from her teammates, the loudest being Maria, who sat down on the ground, pouting and exhausted.

'What do you mean they're not here? We flew here _specifically _to train with them! Who are we supposed to train with now? Godzilla? Hello Kitty?' she said before Spanish cursing escaped her lips. Katharine sighed again and shook her head.

'No, not really. But they are willing to accommodate us since we traveled such a long way. They apparently have set up another training camp for us this week.' continued Katharine, her calm voice aggravating the suspense as she scrolled down the email, reading carefully.

'I'm alright with other women's youth teams as long as they meet our caliber.' said Zofia as she put her hands on her hips. 'I don't want to deal with little girls again. Not after Brazil. That was_ bad_, man.' she continued. Katharine shook her head once again as her team fell silent.

'Actually, we're not going to deal with girls at all. We're going to the All-Japan Boys' training camp and they're expecting us tomorrow morning at seven.' said Katharine, her voice trailing off, muted by the noises of the airport.

The members of the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team looked at one another, their expression revealing a mix of annoyance and disbelief, along with a lingering sense of fatigue. If Katharine could connect to her teammates' thoughts, they would collectively scream one word.

**Fuck**.


	2. A Declaration of War

The next morning was brutal for the North American Women's Youth volleyball team. There was no other way to describe the feeling of utter fatigue the girls felt when Katharine's alarm went off. Before leaving the western continent, the team's coaches had booked a six-bed room in a Tokyo youth hostel for the girls and although space was limited inside the small room, Katharine and her teammates had found relative comfort in the plush bump beds and had fallen asleep almost immediately when they got to the hostel the night before. Katharine looked at her phone and groaned, realizing the difficulty the girls would encounter relating to the bathroom use logistics.

'Elia, Arissa. To the bathroom, now. Let's not waste any time.' she said as the twins ran to the bathroom, fighting over who would get to shower first. Katharine heard Elizabeth groaned sleepily as she hid her face with her pillow. Zofia sat up, her long blond hair knotted messily on her head.

'Waking up this early should be a criminal offense, captain. Really. I'm not ok with this.' she complained, only to receive a pillow across her lightly freckled face.

'You can send a formal complaint about your horrible working conditions to our client services department. I should be able to give a damn and answer back in about two weeks. Sorry for the delay, it's the changing of the time zones. Terribly inconvenient, I know.' replied Katharine with an unphased expression on her face. Giggles could be heard from Maria's bunk as Zofia's eyes narrowed passively.

'Oh, you went looking for that one, Zofia. You got _canceled_.' said a giggling Maria as she rose up, untangling her brown curly locks with her fingers.

'Zofia, when Arissa and Elia are done, you'll share the bathroom with Elizabeth. And she gets to shower first.' said Katharine, earning another annoyed groaned from Zofia. 'And why is that?' Elizabeth removed the pillow that hid her face.

'Because I'm not an asshole like _you_.' Maria laughed again much to Zofia's growing annoyance.

'It's the first time that you're tolerable since we got here, Elizabeth. And you were _asleep._ I wouldn't brag about it.' replied Zofia as the twins exited the bathroom. Katherine gestured to the Texan setter and the Polish-American spiker to hurry up and both walked lazily to the bathroom, Zofia clearly sulking as she closed the doors behind them.

'I can't believe we're going to train with boys. Big and tall boys. I hate playing with guys, they make me feel so damn short.' stated Maria as she brushed her hair, rolling her eyes. She was visibly anxious. 'I bet I won't even be able to play at all. They'll think I'm a preschooler who got lost on the way to kindergarten.' she said with a loud sigh. Katharine went to sit next to her on her bed and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder.

'I'll make sure they let you play. You're probably the best libero of this entire camp, man or woman.' said Katharine, trying to cheer up her Mexican libero teammate and friend. She smirked and gently nudged her shoulder. 'And I promise I'll let you sit on my shoulders if you feel too small.' Maria chuckled.

'Says the girl who's only four inches taller than me.' Katharine shrugged. Maria was right. The Canadian player was the second smallest member of the Women's Youth volleyball team. But for the height that Katharine did not possess, she made up for in horsepower in her serves and spikes, earning nicknames from her teammates for her hits such as _'fireballs'_ and _'nukes'_. Katharine laughed again. Maria always had an answer for everything.

But there was some truth to what she said. She wasn't tall, but she was strong. She always had a more muscular disposition than the rest of the girls on her team and often found herself in the mornings either running or lifting weights on her regular schedule. She had to compensate in raw power for the inches she lacked to be an effective middle blocker, she told herself. And since they would be training with young men, she expected the net to be raised higher than what she was used to. In a sense, she was glad she had tall players such as Zofia, Elizabeth, Arissa, and Elia on her team. They would cover for the smaller girls' disadvantage.

Before long, the North American Women's Youth volleyball team was ready to move out equipped with their gear, clothes, and train tickets to the stadium where the training camp was held. Katharine led her team through the busy streets of downtown Tokyo, where she found the prying eyes of hundreds of Japanese locals on her and on her teammates as they walked through the crowded streets and underground paths. She knew they were foreigners, but did they look so different? She tried to shrug off the feeling of uneasiness as they got on the train at the nearest subway station. Katharine sat next to Arissa and Elia and shyly looked around as the train started to move. She could feel the intense gaze of the woman who sat next to the doors of the train, her tiny beady eyes staring straight at her. She could feel her palms sweating as the older woman 's eyes narrowed judgingly as she mumbled something in Japanese that completely eluded the Canadian spiker.

'Why do I get the feeling that we're being watched? I feel like I look so different compared to the average Japanese girl. Is it the piercings?' she asked them, pointing at her multiple helix piercings on her ears. She got a sharp grin from Arissa.

'Honey. Don't even start with me. You are not a six-foot-three Nigerian volleyball player in Japan. You have _no idea_ what being stared at feels like right now.' she replied and rolled her eyes. Katharine always admired the twins for their honesty and their humor.

'I'm thankful I got you girls to come here with us. I don't know what we would have done without you. Thank you.' replied Katharine. Elia grinned, put a warm hand on her captain's shoulder.

'Arissa and I made room for you guys in our busy modeling career schedules, you're right. But it was the right thing to do. You're lucky I'm not a fan of the stupid editor of _Teenage_ magazine or you would be without middle blockers. You can buy us dinner later to show your gratitude, captain. I like sushi. The _fancy_ and_ expensive _kind.' she said with a large grin. Katharine laughed at Elia's comment, only to be shushed by the old man across her, whose sleep they had interrupted. Katharine quickly apologized and sighed. _Different public transport customs_, she reminded herself.

When the girls reached the stadium, they couldn't be any more surprised to see the size of the gym facilities, even for American standards. She could see the training camp coaches, dressed in the Japanese Olympic official tracksuit as they climbed the stairs leading to the inside courts. Katharine inhaled deeply and turned around to face her amazed teammates, who were still taking in their surroundings. Katharine expected the outside part of downtown Tokyo to be louder, but it was surprisingly quiet. She had been apprehensive about the loud and sudden noises of the city since it was one of the many things that triggered Elizabeth's occasional meltdowns. But as she looked at her green-eyed setter, she knew that the Texan native was doing alright, taking in the new stimuli rather positively as she kneaded the plush volleyball she had brought with her. It was almost as if she tried to calm her own nerves down.

As the captain of her team, Katharine felt it was her responsibility to take care of each and every one of her teammates and when she saw Elizabeth's eyes filled with a childlike joy when she saw the volleyball plush at the Dubai airport's sports shop. Katharine had bought it for her as a comfort item. Elizabeth couldn't express her gratitude with words as verbal communication was sometimes harder for her and so to thank her captain, she braided Katharine's hair while they waited for their next flight during their long layover. All the girls of the team knew what this meant. It meant that Elizabeth now felt comfortable enough with them to express her feelings through touch, something she rarely did even with members of her own family and for Katharine that was a great victory in itself.

Pride made her heart swell when she noticed just how sharp they all looked in their North American Women's Youth Volleyball team uniforms, each of them wearing their respective country's flag woven patch on their shoulder. She was glad at that very moment that she was chosen to be the team's captain. She doubted herself at first, but when she saw the trust in her teammates' eyes, she knew she had made the right decision to accept the position. She smiled and gave them reassuring thumbs up.

'Let's show these boys what real volleyball is all about.' With that said, the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team walked towards the gym facility with renewed confidence and with the promise of expensive sushi paid for by the team's captain after their long day.

* * *

Tobio Kageyama was sitting against the gym's far sidewall, his Pocari Sweat bottle lying on the ground next to him. He had arrived quite a bit earlier than he thought deemed necessary to prepare for today's training but seeing as he got lost about six times in Tokyo's intricate subway system, he was content with his situation. Being late was not an excuse for him. He needed to stay sharp and focused if he was going to demonstrate his skills to the best of his category in the land. All had slowly assembled in the main gymnasium as the participants started talking to one another. Kageyama sighed and rose up to join the rest, who had assembled for the morning briefing.

'Hey there. Heard you were the genius first-year setter from Karasuno High School.' said a tall figure approaching him. The yellow and green of his school tracksuit immediately alerted Kageyama that the person facing him was from the reputed Itachiyama Institute. Tobio quickly bowed low and inhaled sharply.

'Thank you for taking notice of me. My name is Tobio Kageyama. I hope we can train together and learn a lot from one another.' he said awkwardly and robotically, almost too politely. He felt his throat tighten as he said the words. He heard a chuckle and he raised his head to look at the tall teenager facing him. His eyes were dark and his hair was darker still. He had a vacant expression on his face and a lazy look in his eyes. He seemed bored, thought Kageyama. He gestured to Kageyama to stop bowing very nonchalantly.

'There's no need for that. I just wanted to check if it really was you. I didn't think the King of the Court would actually show up here.' The arrogance of this guy almost made Kageyama's scowl too apparent. He _hated _that nickname.

'Who are you?' Kageyama asked, his voice low and stern as he tried to reason with himself not to punch the stranger in front of him. The older boy shrugged, unphased by Kageyama's inquisitive mind.

'Sakusa Kiyoomi. Second-year at Itachiyama. But you probably know that already since we'll be facing off in the Spring Nationals soon.' Kageyama swallowed dryly. Of course, he knew who this kid was when he heard his name. He was one of the three best young players in Japan and the ace of his team. His spikes, if rumors were true, were almost as terrible as _his_… Kageyama tried to shake off the horrible memories of their more recent match with Shiratorizawa and the sting of Wakatoshi Ushijima's spike when it hit his forearms. Before he could continue his train thoughts, he saw the other players beginning to assemble at the right side of the gym and followed Sakusa towards the rest of the group. Tobio's short black bangs began to stick to his forehead. He wiped the sweat off his brow. There was no doubt about it. He was very nervous.

'Line up, boys!' a voice called in the distance. A tall figure appeared before the players. Kageyama smiled excitedly because he knew that the man standing before him was a legend. Fuki Habarida had been named Olympic coach to Japan's Men's volleyball team for the next Summer Olympics and had been a brilliant player ever since he picked up a volleyball in his first year of high school. Fuki Habarida stood tall, taller than even the tallest players of the camp, and smiled to the teenage participants, who all politely bowed to him.

'Good morning to all. My name is Fuki Habarida and I'll be supervising your training during this volleyball camp. I'm sure you know this is quite the privilege to be able to play together this week and learn from one another. From the bottom of my heart, I can say that I'm very pleased to have been chosen to guide your talents during this training camp.' he started. Kageyama stood tall and attentive but his ear caught on to faint whispers from his fellow players as one said something along the lines of '_This is so cool!_' Kageyama's sharp blue eyes returned to the Olympic coach as he tried to steady his breathing. He definitely was nervous. But mostly, he was excited to be there, his hands slightly shaking in anticipation.

_'The Japanese Team crumbles before height and strength_.' Habarida stated boldly. 'That was what they said about our national men's team during my times in the Olympics. No more. We now have a strong, powerful, and adaptable youth line up that will be groomed to play hard and smart against any other team in the world. Together, we will hone your skills and make you learn to _adapt_ to any situation on a court. Speaking of which…' he said, scratching the back of his head. Puzzled looks from the participants made Fuki Habarida chuckle uncomfortably.

'There is a minor situation I have to talk to you guys about before starting the warm-ups. Um, how can I explain this…' he said. Before the Olympic coach knew, he heard the gymnasium door open at the other end of the room, the creaking door catching Kageyama's attention.

'We have another team that will train with us this week exceptionally- I guess they're here after all. And on time too.' said Habarida. Kageyama squinted his eyes to better see the silhouettes in the distance and almost choked when he noticed just who they would be training with. Gasps of surprise and excited squeals could be heard from the boys' group as the six upcoming figures walked towards them. Tobio Kageyama was hard to take by surprise in general. But at that time when he saw exactly who was joining them, he was **surprised**.

'Is this really happening? My dreams have come true.' one of the boys said.

'You _can't_ be serious.' replied Atsumu Miya, Inarizaki High's setter, another volleyball star in the making. Tobio Kageyama could clearly see their new training partners now as the feminine figures walked towards them, bare-legged except for protective kneepads, hips covered only by small bodycon shorts that made Kageyama blush slightly. They were volleyball players, yes. It was an _all-girls_ team. A **foreign** _all-girls _team. Kageyama couldn't believe his eyes.

This was _very,_ **_very _**different from the kind of practice sessions Kageyama was used to.

He heard Sakusa chuckle in the distance. 'Looks like this week will be interesting after all...' he said. Kageyama swallowed again. Before his very eyes stood some of the tallest girls he's ever seen in his entire life. Even the smallest of the two girls was imposing just but the aura she projected, her deep brown eyes intense with anticipation. Kageyama took notice of the front leading young woman. _Must be their captain_, he thought. She sported a very long braid of dark hair and had pale grey eyes. She clumsily bowed before Fuki Habarida and he shook her hand with vigor.

'Thank you ladies for coming to help us train this week. I know this might not be the ideal situation for you, but I hope these boys will give you a run for your money.' he said, beaming. The team captain smiled and nodded.

'Thank you for having us.' she simply said as she bowed again. Kageyama sighed. She didn't need to bow again, but she did anyway. Obviously, this team of girls was fresh off the plane and had no clue about any Japanese customs whatsoever. He glanced at the smallest of the girls of the foreign team again, noticing just how small her little frame was compared to the rest of the players at the camp. She was so short. _She's even shorter than Nishinoya if that's ever possible, _he thought. She was wearing a pair of red shorts and a red sleeveless sports jersey. Kageyama deduced she was the libero of their team as the rest of the female players wore a black uniform with red and white stripes on its sides. But most importantly, Kageyama noticed the color of her skin and just how beautiful it was. A blush crept on his face and he suddenly felt his cheeks burn. It was the color of warm caramel, his favorite dessert. It matched perfectly with her curly brown hair. _I don't know what country she's from, but I want to visit it_, he thought.

He removed his glance from the quirky looking libero and moved on to the two tall American girls behind her. One had a more timid disposition and vivid green eyes that nervously looked at the ground and the other one had very pale blond hair pulled up in a bun and sharp icy blues that could intimidate anyone. _Probably the setter and a spiker_, he thought. Finally, Kageyama took a glance at the tallest players of their team, who were definitely twins. They were seemingly the team's middle blockers and their long braided hair that reached their lower backs and gave them a regal appearance that he had never seen before in women. Kageyama sighed and took a look at his peers, who were as silently impressed as he was. Fuki Habarida noticed the shocked gazes of his camp pupils and laughed heartily.

'Boys, may I have the honor of introducing the newly formed North American Women's Youth volleyball team. Captain, would you like to introduce your team?' he asked. The captain of the North American Women's Youth volleyball team smiled shyly and waved at her audience.

'I'm afraid my Japanese is not the best, Habarida-san. Do you mind translating what I say?' she asked timidly. The coach winked at her.

'They all understand English fairly well. I'm sure they'll understand everything you say.' he said. Kageyama internally panicked. The coach was wrong: his English was horrible, or at least that's what his grades said. The captain of the North American Women's Youth volleyball team turned back to them and looked a little nervous before speaking out.

'_Ohayōgozaimasu_, everybody.' she started. Little chuckles of laughter were heard from the training camp participants. Kageyama groaned. Already, they were mocking them. He was ashamed of his peers at that moment. Laughing at a foreigner's Japanese is considered rude, even for rowdy teenage boys. Kageyama straightened up when he saw the angry look the Olympic coach gave his training partners. The silence was now heavy, but the female captain kept on going, pretending she didn't hear the disrespectful giggles.

'My name is Katharine and I'm the captain of the North American Women's Youth volleyball team. It is with great pleasure and excitement that I bring my team to play with you this week and we're grateful that you'll give us a chance to better ourselves. This is Maria.' she said, pointing at the bubbly-looking and beaming shorter female player. The Mexican libero bowed at the boys.

'She's the best libero player I've ever met. Have fun getting your hopes destroyed when you spike against her. She'll just dig it right up.' continued the black-haired captain. Kageyama smiled as he heard another behind him say '_She's never going to last a week here. Look at her! I bet I could lift her up with one arm. Best libero my ass, she'll get destroyed._' Kageyama groaned disapprovingly and gave the boy behind him a sharp glare, silencing him. She then pointed to Elizabeth, who once again averted her gaze to the ground, obviously very nervous and shy at the attention she was getting.

'This is Elizabeth, our team's setter. She makes my job as a wing spiker so much easier during games.' Kageyama's hands balled in excitement. He's finally going to be able to witness a foreigner's setting techniques, something he wanted to see and study for a while now! Kageyama knew just by looking at the setter that she was nervous and uncomfortable with larger crowds and knew that some of the other boys would use that to their advantage when facing her on the court.

'This is Zofia. She's our outside hitter and may I say the best on our team at cross-shots. Precision is her forte.' Kageyama noticed Sakusa's gaze on the blond-haired spiker. _He's ready to test her out_, he thought. The captain cleared her throat and inhaled deeply, trying to shake off the nerves.

'And this is Arissa and Elia, our famed middle blockers, also best in their category in America.' she said as the twins waved to the other participants. Kageyama sighed. They were even taller than Tsukishima, he thought. Taller than most guys in the gymnasium, the Olympic coach included. That's when Kageyama noticed the utter terror in the eyes of his fellow players. _I guess they've never seen girls this tall either_, he thought. The captain clapped her hands and smiled.

'I know we don't look like the guys you normally will be facing off with in practice matches, but I'm still glad that my team and I will be able to share this experience with you.' she said as she looked back at the coach. Sakusa smugly stepped up and his voice resonated throughout the gymnasium, calling out to the Canadian spiker.

'Don't ask us to lower the net for you, Princess. We won't play nice just because you're girls.'

**Shock**.

His arrogance even took Fuki Habarida by surprise, but the captain kept a smile on her face nonetheless. Only the light in her eyes changed. Kageyama knew this look. It was the look of someone who had been directly provoked.

'I wouldn't worry about that. We'll _adapt_.' Sharp glares coming from all the players on the North American Women's Youth volleyball team made Kageyama sweat with unease. Her response was not ordinary, thought Kageyama. It was an _answer_ to Sakusa's challenge. Fuki Habarida uncomfortably cleared his throat and a nervous chuckle escaped his lips. 'Well, that went rather well.' he started.

'Alright, enough talking. Let's start the warmups. I want ten laps around the gym. Now.' he ordered.

Before Kageyama even had the chance to walk to the sides of the court to drop his Pocari Sweat bottle on the ground and stretch, he heard the captain's voice loud and clear as her teammates lined up behind her, already lightly jogging in place. 'Let's **_go_**_!_' screamed the smaller libero player and like a special operations army commando unit, their legs started moving up and down at the same time as they began to run at the same rhythm, leaving some of the boys on the sidelines of the gymnasium either dumbfounded or amazed at their synchronicity. Kageyama's blood started pumping in excitement. They didn't operate like the Karasuno's girls team. Hell, they didn't operate like _any_ other girls teams he's ever encountered. They were organized, focused, totally in sync with one another. A phenomenon.

Even during laps, they worked like a well-oiled machine. These girls were not six players running around a gym, thought Kageyama, awestruck. They were _one_. And if they played the same way jogged, he knew the male participants of the camp were in for a bloody week. Sakusa's challenge had not been taken lightly by the foreign girls. They didn't take this as a simple exchange of words. They took it as a declaration of war.

And they would _win_.


	3. A Crow Amongst She-Wolves

Before long, Fuki Habarida had the participants of the All-Japan Boys training camp sweating, having them run around the gym, making them do endless squats and jumping exercises. The boys' brows were heavy with sweat and he could notice the starting of the cramping in some of the participants' legs. As he walked the gym to inspect that his pupils were doing the exercises correctly, he noticed just how physically strong some of his players were. His prized players, Sakusa Kiyoomi and Tobio Kageyama seemed a little out of steam, their bangs sticking to their foreheads but remained stoic and focused. The others looked like they could use a break, some of them ready to crumble to the ground. Fuki Habarida blew his whistle, signaling to the volleyball players to stop what they were doing immediately.

'Alright, that's enough! I wouldn't want you to tire yourself so- _what?_' he mumbled. He couldn't finish his sentence. Fuki Habarida sighed and blinked. His gaze had been averted towards the girls from the North American Women Youth's volleyball team and although their faces were red and sweaty and their buns and ponytails messy, they seemed only riled up for more, their sharp gazes directly looking at him like they wanted, no, like they _needed _more. These were Olympic grade exercises, not some middle school warm ups. _How the hell can they still want more after this?_

He saw the fire in their eyes. The same fire that spread to the entire team's core, from the tallest of girls to the smaller libero player who sported a grin on her face as she brushed the sweat off her brow. They all shared the same look of hunger to play, to win and to prove themselves. Fuki Habarida smiled. He had to remind himself that these girls were Olympic hopes in their own countries and that they were perhaps used to these drills, unlike many of the camp's boys who had crumbled to the ground on their knees, utterly exhausted. Sounds of wheezing and sharp intakes of breath were heard throughout the gymnasium.

'I think a break is in order. Didn't I tell you this camp would be rough?' said the coach as he rubbed the back of his head. Laughing heartily. 'You have fifteen minutes to compose yourselves and get some water. After the break, the _real_ training begins.' he said as he left the gym himself to go smoke.

Katharine looked at Maria as she bent over to wrap her right knee with sports tape. Maria was very fit physically and was their team's backbone when it came to defense. She needed to take extra precautions to prevent her joints from hurting during and after practices and matches. 'Is your knee alright, Maria?' she asked. Her smaller libero teammate shook her head and replied with a large exuberant grin.

'Yeah, it's fine. I'll make sure to ice it when we get back, don't worry.' Katharine nodded inhaled deeply, wiped the sweat off her forehead and quickly stretched her legs before they cramped up from the dozens of squats she had just done. 'I'll go refill our water bottles, ladies. Hand them over- _**hey!**_ No throwing of the bottles, Arissa! Stop it!' she said as she was attacked with her teammates' water gourds while they laughed at her expense.

'Come on, ball girl. Fetch my drink immediately.' said Maria in between chuckles. Katharine's eyes narrowed. Soon followed Zofia's voice in the near distance as she rose from the ground, also stretching her legs.

'And bring me a fresh towel, servant woman.' she said as the whole team laughed amusedly. Katharine's eyes narrowed and gave her teammates a seemingly innocent smile that gave Maria chills. The smaller Mexican libero knew this curve on her captain's lips.

'Hey, guys, maybe you should stop-' But Katharine's voice cut her dryly.

'The next person who mocks my genuine Canadian kindness will run another twenty laps _plus_ I will eat their share of sushi tonight.' she said, her threat freezing the blood in her teammates' veins. A heavy and regretful silence fell within the group and Katharine laughed deeply.

'Oh, how the mighty have fallen.' she said in between low giggles. She soon left the gymnasium and headed towards the water fountain, hands full with towels and water bottles. She was about to turn the corner to make it to the bathroom area when she bumped into a tall and strong figure, dropping what she held in her arms to the ground. She quickly bent to pick her team's belongings when she noticed that the tall boy she had run into also bent down to help her.

'It's ok, you don't have to-'

'Please, let me help. You seem to have your hands full already.' he said as they both rose up to finally face each other. Katherine's grey eyes met Tobio Kageyama's steely blue ones. He stood silent before her for a moment but soon cleared his throat and bowed to her.

'I'm sorry for not introducing myself to you sooner and I would like to apologize for my peer's disrespect. I'm Tobio Kageyama, first year at Karasuno High School and our volleyball team's main setter.' he said. Katharine gave him a small smile and bowed her head in return.

'_Ayamaru hitsuyō wa arimasen_ (you don't have to apologize).' she said very slowly as if she was unsure of her pronunciation. Kageyama smiled. Even though her Japanese was somewhat too formal and shaky, she managed to make herself understood.

'My name is Katharine. It's nice to meet you, Tobio Kageyama.' she said as she looked at him from below. _That boy is something else_ she thought. _So intense._ Katharine had to bend her neck backward to be able to meet his eye. Silence lingered between both volleyball players before Kageyama managed to say what he thought was proper English grammar.

'Would you like help with filling your water bottles?' he simply asked. He expected her to refuse, of course. It's not like he or any of his other camp peers had been very welcoming to the girls' team and most of the boys had completely ignored them during the warm-ups. She probably did not expect kindness from him. Hell, _he_ didn't expect kindness from his own damn self. This was just another instance where his mouth was not listening to his brain._ I caught Hinata's virus_, he thought._ I'm slowly becoming stupid_. He could see the foreign captain's face suddenly glow up with appreciation.

'That sounds wonderful. _Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita_, Tobio. Looks like I'm the captain _and_ the water girl now.' she said with a tone of annoyance in her voice. Kageyama looked puzzled as they walked towards the fountain.

'Why do you get their water? You're the captain of your team_._ They should get yours, not the other way around.' he said to her with the utmost confusion._ If we asked Daichi to do that for us, he would make us run suicide sprints until we puked our guts out and ask Suga to film the whole thing_, thought Kageyama as a feeling of uneasiness crept down his spine. He heard the captain giggle and she shrugged off his apparent confusion.

'Yes, it's true. I'm their captain. But they are _my _team. They are _my_ responsibility. They work hard so I can perform at my best and they cover my shortcomings when I make a mistake on the court. That deserves a little refill in my opinion.' she replied as she started to fill up the water gourds.

Kageyama looked at her as if she came straight from another dimension, from another world. Never did he expect his upperclassmen to do him any such favors. Is this how things were done where they came from? He stood there silently as he held out empty water bottles to her in utter silence, shocked._ She treats them like they are her family_, thought Kageyama. _Yeah, Daichi would definitely kick my ass_. Soon, the duo was walking back to the gymnasium and he heard the quiet voice of Katharine directed towards him.

'So, Tobio. Anyone in particular we should watch out for?' she asked. Kageyama grunted.

'I don't really know anyone here... But I wouldn't mess with Sakusa Kiyoomi. He's in the top three in the country.' he said to her, his voice low and calm. He heard the foreign captain chuckle.

'Oh yeah, _him_.' she started, a mysterious grin growing on her lips. 'I know how to handle people like him. He'll get what he wants from us, just keep your eyes open for what comes next.' she said. Tobio took a closer look at the women's team as he walked next to their captain. He frowned, realizing that the North American Women Youth's volleyball team was short of a player.

'How are you going to be able to play? You're missing a player.' he stated. Katharine shrugged.

'I know. Our coaches have not picked the other candidates for our team yet. We're it for now. I guess we'll just have to make friends and let someone join us, though I doubt your _little friends_ will want to share the court with us from the looks we got earlier.' she said as she sighed. The North American Women Youth's volleyball team was a relatively new team that had been formed especially in preparation for the World Tournament and the rest of the candidates had either not yet been chosen. She expected the team's coaches to have selected a full roster of players before long. As she headed back to her waving team, Katharine turned around to face him again and smiled.

'If you want to toss some good sets for us in practice matches later, you know where to find us.' she said as she ran to her team. Tobio Kageyama stood there, on the sidelines of the gymnasium, surprised at his own excitement at the prospect of tossing for complete strangers, girls nonetheless. _Tanaka and Nishinoya are going to flip_, he thought. Sakusa was right. It was going to be an interesting week after all.

* * *

A few minutes later, Fuki Habarida had asked the participants to line up in front of him and the players executed themselves quickly. The North American Women Youth's volleyball team had assembled again, their gaze deeply focused on the Japanese Olympic coach.

'Alright boys-' he cleared his throat. '_And_ girls.' he continued with a chuckle. 'You survived the warmups. Congratulations, now it's time to play. We'll go easy at first, I want to see what makes you guys so special. I want you to form teams. The people you choose to be by your side on this court will be the team you'll be playing with this week, so choose your teammates carefully. No time to waste now and don't be picky.' he said. Already, the cracking noise of laughter could be heard from some of the participants as they boyishly and loudly formed teams.

Tobio Kageyama placed his Pocari Sweat water bottle on the ground and suddenly felt a creeping presence next to him. He turned his head around and he saw Sakusa Kiyoomi looming over his bent body. Tobio Kageyama was a polite young man, but there was one thing he hated more than losing a volleyball game and that was empty arrogance. Sakusa's self-important expression was already irritating him and his blue eyes quickly met Sakusa's dark ones.

'Don't tell me you're tired, Kageyama.' he smugly said to the Karasuno setter. Tobio Kageyama clenched his teeth.

'Not at all. How about you? Got tired of picking on girls yet?' asked Kageyama, his voice betraying his growing annoyance with the Itachiyama spiker. Sakusa rewarded his comment with a haughty smirk.

'Whatever. I _was _going to ask you to join my team but your kingly attitude made me change my mind. I doubt anyone will want to play with the King of the Court, even here. Have fun playing alone this week, Kageyama.' he replied to him, walking away with a competitive grin. Tobio Kageyama looked around him and groaned. It was at that moment that he somewhat missed the Karasuno High volleyball team. He missed their exuberance and their warmth. When he came back to reality, the teams were already forming around him and he suddenly felt very angry with himself for not being able to bite his tongue and accept Sakusa Kiyoomi's proposal. He suddenly felt anxious about being by himself and all alone again, like he had been alone on that day, during that game…

His thoughts were cut short when he saw the pristine black uniforms of the North American Women Youth's volleyball team in the corner of his eye. A growing smile appeared on his face. He was _not_ alone. He had _them_, whoever these girls were. He knew nothing of their gameplay and he knew nothing of these players on a personal level. But he was adaptable. To win and prove himself, he would push himself out of his comfort zone, even if it meant playing with these loud, long-legged, bodycon-shorts-wearing foreign athletes. He didn't know if they were any good, but he trusted their passion for the sport. He heard another boy's voice call out to him. It was Sakusa's teammate, Komori Motoya. Kageyama was tempted to roll his eyes when he saw the stupid look on his opponent's face.

'Looks like poor Tobio-kun has no team. How sad. The King has no subjects to antagonize.' he teased. Kageyama looked at him with a smirk on his face and pointed in the direction of the North American Women Youth's volleyball team, his expression stoic and unchanged.

'I _do _have a team. Sorry to disappoint you.' he said, enjoying the shocked faces of the rest of Sakusa's team before he slowly made his way to the other end of the court towards the North American Women Youth's volleyball team. He knew the other boys were mocking him, he could see their smug faces and hear their sneers and jests. He knew that he had earned a reputation because of his less-than-glamorous past on the middle-school court but he had to push all of this unresolved turmoil inside of him aside. He could not let this affect his game. Not now, not ever.

* * *

Katharine sighed and winked at the girls that formed her own team. Maria looked anxious. She knew they were short of a player and the thought of playing with a tall male stranger irked her nerves. Katharine could see the other participants quickly forming teams. She could feel someone looking straight at her and when she turned her head around, Sakusa Yoomi's gaze was upon her. He wore his signature arrogant smirk on his face as he pretentiously waved at her. _What a prick, _she thought. _He's trying to push my buttons_. But Maria's voice brought her back out of her thoughts.

'I hate playing with guys, y'all. This brings me back to middle school gym practice. They can be so dumb and immature. I swear if we wind up playing with a complete noobtard_-_'

But before Maria had even the chance to finish her sentence, she felt the presence of an unknown someone close to her, Zofia pointing at the person that stood behind Maria as she cracked a chuckle. When she saw who it was that approached her, Maria shyly scratched the back of her head and nervously giggled.

'Hi.' she voiced slowly, her deep brown eyes meeting with Tobio Kageyama's steely blues.

'Hi.' He simply replied, looking down at her. He was so much taller and wider than the short freckled-faced libero that awkwardly stood before him, uncharacteristically shy and silent. Zofia couldn't help but crack a mocking giggle when she saw the red flush that decorated Maria's face when she realized just how imposing and curiously handsome the teenager that rendered her silent really was.

'**Wow**, you're big-' she stuttered nervously. 'I mean, you're tall, _not that I would call you big_\- it's muscles, big strong shoulders and legs are what I meant- not that I noticed right away- I'm just going to go hide now.' was all she said before going mute and looking at the ground, her cheeks flushed multiple shades of red. _Goddamn it! Me and my big mouth_, she thought to herself, cursing herself into oblivion as she shakily took a step back, quickly walking away from the steely blue-eyed stranger.

Arissa and Elia barely managed to keep their laughter to themselves, although the expression on their faces could read the desperation to laugh at the awkwardness of their libero teammate. _'Ouhhh, Maria likes a boy- Maria likes a boy!'_ they teased, earning themselves a furious look from their libero.

'_**Stop that!'**_ she angrily whispered back to them. Mortified was the term Katharine would have chosen to describe Maria's state of mind at that moment. Tobio Kageyama stood there, in complete confusion and silence and he finally cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked at Katharine. She smiled at him in return, knowing exactly why he had come to them.

'I see you _did_ think about what I said to you earlier. Glad you accepted my offer.' She said to him as she clapped her hands together, satisfied. He simply nodded in response. Maria took this opportunity to hide her face with her towel and walked back to the rest of the girls, Zofia still mockingly giggling to her face. It earned her a strong arm nudge from the Mexican libero.

'Shut up, Zofia.' she said to her, still visibly embarrassed.

'You are pure entertainment, Maria._ Pure entertainment_.' she replied in between dying chuckles.

'Alright! Ladies, this is Tobio Kageyama. He's a setter. He'll play with us this week. Elizabeth?' Katharine called out to her green-eyed setter. Elizabeth had stayed silent this whole time but when Katharine had called out her name, her gaze connecting with her captain's.

'Would you terribly mind if Tobio tossed for us today? It'll be easier for us to adjust to him this week that way.' she asked. Elizabeth agreed and gave Katharine a small approving nod. Katharine knew that Elizabeth would gladly play a more defensive position in order to accommodate their new teammate.

'Awesome.' replied Katharine as she got nods of approval from the rest of her team.

Kageyama blinked, surprised. He expected the girls to move him to the back of the rotation seeing as they already were used to their setter's gameplay. He wouldn't mind playing another position than his usual one and he would have been understanding of their resistance to him setting for them… But for them to willingly let him set for them right out of the gate? Would they be able to adapt to him fast enough for them to gain sufficient momentum to win against some of the best players in the country? Why were they so quick to trust in his abilities?

'Really, I don't mind playing another position-' he started, but he heard the small voice of the shy green-eyed girl call out to him.

'It's ok. You can set.' Was all she said before going silent again, evading his eye. Before anyone else could speak up, Zofia's voice called to Kageyama, her icy blue eyes staring straight at him.

'I like high tosses. No ballooning, just straight and high tosses. And keep it out of the blocker's reach. I don't like breaking through the wall, that's _her_ thing.' she said, pointing at Katharine, who grinned back to him. Kageyama blinked again, confused as to why she had said that. He looked back at the captain of the all-girls team and swallowed hard, his brows forming a frown. _Is she the ace of their team? But she's the shortest spiker here… _he thought. What kind of hitting power was she hiding behind her poised expression?

'Yeah, I'm mostly into closer-to-the-net-tosses since I'm not as tall as she is. I'll adjust to your position Tobio, don't worry. Today is all about getting to know you and how _you_ play. We'll follow your momentum as best as we can. Arissa and Elia will meet the other teams' challenge just as hard when it comes to blocking. Elizabeth and Zofia will cover for us too. You're in good hands.' Katharine calmly said to Tobio. He was still nervous and felt out of place.

'I wouldn't want you to exhaust yourselves for my sake since we don't have a full roster to play with-' he said, his words earning him a sharp look from the captain of the girls' team. Her grey eyes pierced his entire being.

'You're with us now. We have each other's' backs. We move as one.' Kageyama could only nod at her statement. He sighed, letting the pressure of the upcoming matches roll off his shoulders.

'Trust us, Tobio.' Katharine told, no, _commanded_ him, her body not showing a single drop of anxiety as she winked at her teammates, who offered their fists to one another and placed them together for a rallying cry. Tobio Kageyama was used to playing with men, that was a known fact. Men were boisterous and arrogant (images of Tanaka and Nishinoya roaring proudly before a match crossed his mind). But these girls... they were confident. Confident in their team, in their skills and in each other... Even the tallest and strongest of his team, Asahi Azumane was a nervous wreck before a match- not to mention that his coping mechanisms to curb the pre-match jitters were highly questionable. But these girls… he'd never seen such game-ready players. No one drop of fear or nervousness flowed in their veins. He heard Arissa, the tall Nigerian-American blocker clear her throat loudly and noticed that they were all looking at him, waiting for him to place his fist against theirs.

'Let's _go_, setter boy. We don't have all day.' she said to him, her intense dark eyes narrowing with a sudden impatience. With a certain reticence and clear embarrassment, Tobio Kageyama groaned and finally bumped the girls' fists with his own, his large hand connecting with theirs. When Kageyama raised his gaze to meet theirs again and when he did, he was taken aback by the sudden ferocity he found in these strangers' colorful eyes. A sharp focus. A growing hunger. These were not the eyes of ordinary girls, thought Kageyama. These were the eyes of predators, of a pack that was coming together as one to hunt and go for the kill. _What the hell did I get myself into?_

He then heard Katharine's voice loud and clear as a prideful cry escaped her mouth. _'_

_As one!'_

Without hesitation, the girls of the North American Women's Youth volleyball team voiced together their motto, like wild howls in the night. **_'_**

**_AS ONE!'_**

Kageyama stood there, fist against theirs, speechless. He heard it. He felt it deep within him. It was their warning to other players, their cry of war. _Is this what it means to be a real team?_

He heard the coach's whistleblowing as they were instructed to move to the left court to dispute their first practice match. As the girls placed themselves into positions, Kageyama felt a surge of energy run through him. As he planted his feet firmly on the right side of the court in front of the net, he felt the warmth of their presence reassure him. Even Sakusa Kiyoomi's arrogant smug face across the net seemed unimportant to him at that moment. He could feel Maria, his team's libero, inhale deeply as she placed herself in a low, almost crouch-like defensive position at the back row alongside the tall and intimidating Arissa, followed by Elizabeth, who was first up to serve. He saw Zofia and Katharine at his side, joining him in the vanguard as they stood immobile and focused before the high net. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, his palms sweaty with anticipation.

This was a new experience for him. He was about to play against the creme of the crop, the best of his country in his respective category with complete strangers, and yet all his thoughts were monopolized on the steel in his teammates' eyes and the bedeviled grins of all-consuming anticipation that decorated their faces. Kageyama chuckled to himself at the sheer unlikelihood of his current situation, as he stood there, incredulous.

After all, what could be more improbable than a crow flying amongst a pack of she-wolves?


	4. The Hunt

Katharine blinked slowly and inhaled deeply. Sounds and movements were blurred and all she could hear was the sound of her own breathing, of her own heartbeat in her chest. She zoned everything else out of her mind. The boy that stood before her on the other side of the net was tall and lanky, the perfect build for a middle blocker. She could see a growing smirk on his face as he evidently was trying to intimidate her with his impressive stature. Her grey eyes were fixed on him, but her ears paid attention to the sounds that emanated from behind her. She could hear Elizabeth dribbling the volleyball on the ground, preparing to serve. That was the moment that Katharine loved the most during a game. It was the moment that made her blood pump, which made her whole body tense with anticipation. It was the moment of the whistle blow to start the game. And it blew. Nothing else mattered. Only the ball.

With a moderate swing, Elizabeth hit the ball across the net and it dove straight into the opposite middle court. 'Nice serve!' he heard Maria shout. She saw their libero plunge for the ball. Katharine's grin grew bigger.

The time had come. The game had begun.

* * *

Tobio Kageyama was always nervous when the first serve of the game was played. He knew the rounds would be shorter because of the lack of players to complete the rotations. He saw Fuki Habarida prepare the points board, indicating 0-0 for both the practice teams. _Only fifteen points per round._ It knew it was a decisive move and he could determine from a simple serve how the game would ensue. His teammate's serve was an underhanded strike. Already, he knew the trajectory of the ball and had predicted where it landed, right across the opposite court in the middle. _They're playing safe_, he thought as he groaned in frustration. He was used to a much more aggressive gameplay. He knew she could hit harder than this, she had to. _This is not the time to play safe, this is the time to hit hard, from the first point to the last. _He saw their libero dive to dig the ball and he did, sending the ball straight and upwards. Kageyama's gaze went straight to Sakusa, who had slowly begun to move backward, preparing his approach for a left-sided spike as their setter Atsumu Miya sent the ball his way.

'Sakusa, it's yours!'

Sakusa moved so well it even took Kageyama by surprise. He was an experienced player. **That** Kageyama knew of. But the way he flowed on the court, the way he covered the ground so efficiently… He took a look on his left and noticed that Katharine, the captain of his team, had also taken a few steps back to gain momentum for a high block. _This is not enough, _thought Kageyama_. Not enough to block one of the best spikers in the country. She's not tall enough to follow with a block_-

As Sakusa jumped in the air to cross-shoot the ball on their court, Kageyama saw Katharine and Zofia run in the same direction and without uttering a single sound, without making a single hand motion to tell the back row of their switch play. He could only look as they switched places on the vanguard, placing themselves at the last minute so that Katharine, the shortest player, would be supported by the tall blue-eyed spiker named Zofia and jump side by side, predicting the Itachiyama's ace's straight shot. The way they reacted right out of the gate was impressive enough. Predicting the Itachiyama ace's spike trajectory was indeed jaw-droppingly lucky- or was it? Had they not moved in such a swift and calculated way, it would have been over already. They had moved so the tallest of the two girls were at the left of their front play, all arms in the air to create a double barricade of a block to stop the ace from coming through with his spike.

As the girls both jumped, delicate fingers stopped the violent spike, Zofia's digits connecting with the ball, sending it upwards towards the back.

'One-touch!' screamed Zofia. Kageyama's eyes widened. _There's no way…! How did they know…?! _Kageyama looked back at Sakusa. His face was livid. The first spike of the game was decisive, everyone and their grandmothers knew that. It would determine the flow of the game, the intensity at which the players would play. Kageyama knew that their strongest spiker was Sakusa and he had himself predicted him to be the first striker of the game. _But this… How could they have known? _He thought_. His spike was so fast… There was no time to think about that blocker switch…_

Maria's gentle push of the palm sent the ball high and slow towards Kageyama, who appreciated the small frame of time she had given him to breathe and think of who to send the ball to. His first and most natural receiver was Zofia, who stood at the left side of the court, ready to jump, out of the way of the three opposing incoming middle blockers. But his eye caught glimpse of black-haired, grey-eyed spiker that jumped high again, on minus tempo, faster than his own rhythm. _She's jumping as a decoy! _His thoughts went berserk, but his senses lined up perfectly with his brain. He was ready for his toss._ Let's just hope I read this right..._

With a strong vertical push, Kageyama sent the ball towards Katharine, whose dominant right hand rose over the tall net, the ball almost grazing her fingers. Kageyama smirked when he saw three blockers from the opposing practice team jumping to meet her spike to finally notice that the ball flew over her hand to be crushed downwards by Zofia's left side spike, hitting the opposite court's backline loudly as their defense stood immobile with wide eyes, unable to stop the Polish-American's spike as it crashed against the ground, ending the turn.

'Oh _yeah!_' he heard the small Mexican libero scream. Kageyama stood there, as puzzled as to their opponents while Zofia, Katharine and Maria high fived, obviously more in the loop about what had just happened than he was. _An unannounced blocker switch, a high jump decoy and a sniper precise long shot in the deep court… And this is just the first point. __**Who**__ are these girls? _Kageyama's thoughts ran wild as he thought of the months of practice he had with the Karasuno team to achieve such plays and just how easy and effortless playing with these foreigners was.

**1-0.**

Kageyama felt Katharine's hand on his shoulder, handing him over the ball.

'Your turn to serve, Kageyama.' she said as he took the ball in his hands, still quite confused about their last play.

'What _happened-_'

'What happened is that the foreign _little girls_ you teamed up with had a lucky turn. Not going to happen again, King.' He heard Komori Motoya snicker across the net.

Katharine and Zofia's eyes narrowed slowly as they glanced at one another. Katharine turned around and made sure that her teammates were aware of the slightly annoyed yet resolved expression on her face. Non-verbal communication. And then she turned back to Kageyama and handed him the ball.

'It's like I said earlier, Tobio. Trust us. We know what to do.' she replied with an enigmatic look in her eye. Maria switched out with Elia, who advanced to the vanguard, joining Zofia and Katharine, who stood far on the right side, while Kageyama placed himself behind the backcourt line, inhaling deeply as he dribbled the ball in front of him. He felt a pair of eyes stare at him and he rose his head to meet the intense gaze of Elizabeth.

'Is there something you have to say?' whispered Kageyama to the green-eyed setter. She nodded.

'Don't be upset about the next turns. It's all about calculated risks.'

'_Calculated risks?_ What the hell are you on about-' but he couldn't finish his sentence. The whistle blew before he could make sense of what the tall curly-haired girl had said to him. Kageyama inhaled again and threw the ball in the air, his body jumping forward as he hit an overhead serve so ferociously across the net that it took the opposing back row blocker by surprise, who received it too short to send it directly to the front.

'Sorry, that was short! Cover me!'

As the opposite setter pushed the ball towards a small yet agile looking white-haired opposite hitter and immediately, Kageyama knew from the strange-looking white-haired boy's relentless footwork that he would be a terribly talented spiker.

'Get it, Hoshiumi!'

'_Watch him!' _exclaimed Kageyama, but the moment the words escaped his mouth, he knew that something was about to happen, he just didn't know what. As the white-haired spiker hand connected with the ball, Kageyama saw what he thought was one of the best direct spikes of his life. The ball that Hoshiumi Korai hit towards Zofia, who stood calmly in the front middle position, hit her straight on the shoulder and it savagely flew to the other side of the gym, ending the turn.

'Don't worry about it.' Kageyama heard Elia say to Zofia. The tall Polish-American player simply nodded and placed herself into position again without saying a word.

Kageyama groaned in frustration. _That was a direct shot. She was perfectly lined up with his spike. Even Hinata would have attempted to stop that ball. Why didn't she try to stop it? Why? _He knew he shouldn't complain but something about the girls' sudden drop in enthusiasm bothered him. They seemed completely calm, not taken aback by the lack of initiative that their blond-haired player just demonstrated. They were silent yet focused. Even the exuberant and loud libero player, Maria, had stopped talking. He heard the other team's voices and snickers as he placed himself into position, at the back of the court.

'All this hype and no heart. What a joke.' he heard Sakusa say as he moved towards the right side of the opposite court, pushing his dark locks of hair out of his face as his gaze fell upon the blond-haired girl.

'They could at the very least_ try_ to block the ball, instead of just looking at it fly in their faces.' Another one said, their words reaching Katharine's ears. But she said nothing, she stayed silent and focused along with her teammates. Those words frustrated Tobio Kageyama beyond his known limits. He could feel his fists balling and his teeth clenching. _Crossing over to punch this turd in the face would cost us the match, but I'm tempted. _He would have to bite his tongue and endure his situation for now.

And he did.

For a while.

* * *

**9-11.**

Tobio Kageyama knew he had a short fuse most of the time. He was aware of his shortcomings. Hinata qualified him as being generally_ 'moody' _. The red-headed player would know all about Kageyama's temper since he was the usual instigator of the Karasuno High's setter's temper tantrums. But not today. _No_, today, Tobio Kageyama was ready to swear off women altogether.

Never in his life had he ever wanted to punch a wall this much. He knew his practice team was good-_ no_, better than good with impressive technique and he most definitely knew that his tosses were almost perfect. He felt it in his bones, his own technique was superb, there was no doubt about it. But the reality of his situation was making his teeth grind. The other team had almost dragged them to the match point. The girls followed the opponent's move very well and received most of their hits and yet…

He felt no aggression, no drive, no grit coming from the North American Women's Youth volleyball team. A full complete rotation had passed since their brilliant first spike but since then, nothing. They just flowed with the pace of the game, passively playing as if they were only there to pass the ball to the other team. They played nothing but a series of dinks and mild spikes. Yes, they scored good points, mainly due to their flawless on-court non-verbal communication and ball drops to the net, but these point gains felt empty to Kageyama, like there was no spirit behind their efforts. It was just as if the girls from the North American Women's Youth volleyball team were _waiting_ for something to happen. As passively as they played, their eyes never left the opponent's movements, growing fatigue,

and insufferable arrogance as they gained advantage and momentum during the match- an erratic pace they were now starting to feel. And then a switch turned on in Kageyama's brain.

_What_ had they been waiting for, exactly?

He remembered his early words with Elizabeth, the team's official setter as she stood by him in the early game in the back row, poised and focused.

'_Don't be upset about the next turns. It's all about calculated risks.' _Kageyama's steely blue eyes turned to have a look at his opponents and he saw, as clear as day, what the girls had been waiting for all along during those grueling turns. He saw Sakusa and his teammates' chests' heaving, their skin and hair wet with sweat from the efforts they were bringing to the game. Some of the players were even holding their sides and rubbing their skin, trying to dissipate the lactic acid build-up in their muscles, causing some to cramp. Sakusa exhaled loudly, visibly growing tired from the strain of the pace he had set during the match. Kageyama replayed the match in his head as he switched into position, at the back row. All those great powerful spikes and flashy high jump blocks … They were taking a physical toll on the other team.

Kageyama heard himself chuckle at the sudden realization that these girls were not amateur players. Far from it. His gaze went back to his team and he noticed just how calm and collected they all were. And evidently, the girls had not depleted their energy reserves, unlike their opponents who looked exhausted from their earlier combination moves. After all, this was a professional standard of play. Even Kageyama found himself under pressure to perform. _Stress, exhaustion…_

He blinked again in the realization of his _other _mistake when he saw a small smile on Katharine's face when she dribbled the ball behind the line of the backcourt, ready to serve as he stood next to her, incredulous. Her sharp grey eyes met his.

And he then felt it. The fire. The slow burn of anticipation. The spark that he had seen at the beginning of the game. He remembered all the insults and mockery that Sakusa and his team had thrown at her and the other girls during the match. And like the masterminds that they were, they just took it silently, letting these toxic words fuel them, letting their words stoke the embers burning deep within.

Kageyama was now internally laughing as a small grin also appeared on his lips, realizing that the girls from the North American Women's Youth volleyball team had not only exhausted the other players and outplayed them in endurance while saving their energy for the last leg of the match but also had outrageously bluffed their way to the inevitable upcoming match point, making Sakusa and his team believe that the young women were not up to the young men's caliber and that they were being carried throughout the match.

_No way_, Kageyama thought, feeling a sudden rush of exhilaration run throughout his body. Tobio Kageyama never thought he would wind up playing with girls. _Ever_. This was different than playing with boys. The boys he was used to playing with were hard-hitting and straightforward. These girls were cunning, analytical and very aware of their environment and other players' conditions, emotional and physical. To put it bluntly, this was a whole other ballgame and Kageyama found it refreshing. And now he found himself utterly enjoying this experience, foreseeing the desperation in Sakusa's face when he would realize of his own mistake in forgetting the one truth he should not have pushed aside during this match. They were_ not _just girls. They were some of the best young players in the world. And they used reverse psychology against these dumb, green boys. They had used their toxic arrogance and their lack of endurance and stamina to their advantage. Because _any_ advantage is fair play.

_They even played me, damn it! _Kageyama's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the whistle. As he slowly bent down in preparation for the captain's service, he couldn't help but notice that the other girls on the court, Zofia, Elizabeth, Elia, and Arissa, were all wearing the same expression, the same look in their eyes. They were ready for the real game to begin.

As Katharine threw the ball in the air, her body swiftly followed as she jumped to her service, all of her muscles on display. Kageyama couldn't remove his gaze from the sheer power in her jump. That was nothing holding her back now, not even gravity. Kageyama had only seen one other player that could jump as powerfully for serve as she had just done. _Wakatoshi Ushijima_. Not even Toru Oikawa, the best at serving in all of Miyagi prefecture could compare when it came to the perfection of her technique. And then he heard the small libero scream from the sideline of the court, her high-pitched voice piercing the air.

'_**FIREBALL!'**_

With one raw, powerful, precise, and dominating swing, Katharine hit the ball with a snarl, her face distorted with pent up anger as a throaty grunt escaped her lips. The ball flew so swiftly and so violently in the other direction that Kageyama's eyes missed the impact. Kageyama heard the ball slice the air as it crossed down over the net with utter might. Not a sound could be heard from the court, only a whimper of surprise and pain from Komori Motoya as the ball grazed his ear before landing inches away from crossing the backline, ending the turn. Sakusa's face became so pale Kageyama thought he was going to be sick. Even Fuki Habarida, who stood on the sidelines of the court, couldn't phrase a sentence. Only the muted expression of shock was plastered across his face as the girls on the court high fived each other, leaving Kageyama dumbfounded and wide-eyed.

**'That's it!** That's my girl!' Exclaimed Arissa.

'_Puta madre_, Katharine! That ace serve was dope! _Una vez más_!' Continued Maria as she gently slapped her captain's back. Katherine turned her head to look at Kageyama and she raised an eyebrow.

'Are you alright, Tobio?' she asked. 'Tired yet?' Kageyama shook his head.

'No.' He couldn't be tired. Not in front of them.

She showed him her pearly white teeth. 'Alright. Then get ready.'

**10-11.**

Kageyama chuckled again when he saw Motoya's confused face. _You heard her, dumbass. Get ready._

* * *

**14-11.**

There were two things Kageyama **did not** expect at the trailing end of this short practice match when he witnessed Katharine, the captain of the North American Women's Youth volleyball team, serve for the first time.

Firstly, there was the following four consecutive meteor-like ace serves that hit the ground of the opposite court.

Secondly, there were six concerned teenagers on the other side of the net that had been unable to stop a single one of them.

With her pinpointed and savage serves, Katharine had not only turned the match around for her team but had also converted her skeptic opponents to her own personal brand of religion called sweet revenge. As she moved to the position of back row middle, Arissa and Elia moved to the front of the net, their long braids gently whipping their lower backs as they performed a personal and yet flash hand clap that made Katharine smile.

'Let's show them our last trick of the match.' she whispered to the Nigerian-American twins. She got approving nods from the middle blockers.

'You got it, captain.'

Kageyama's raised eyebrow caught Katherine's attention. Her intense grey eyes met his blue ones.

'They're not the strongest spikers if that's what you were curious about.' Kageyama frowned, making the Canadian player giggle.

'When Arissa and Elia are on the vanguard side by side, it's not their spikes that would scare me if I were on the other side of the net- let us hope that never happens for my sake. It's the wall they create that becomes the opponent's nightmare. Just watch and learn.' she said to him as the whistle blew.

With a well-balanced serve, Zofia sent the ball across the net straight at their back-row player, who received it quickly. Kageyama exhaled sharply, his senses in overdrive. He knew that in order to regain the momentum of the game, the opposite setter would have to toss it to Sakusa to even remotely have a chance at winning. His prediction was correct as Sakusa jumped in the air, ready to cross-shot the ball right across the net and steadying himself to bypass the two 6'3 American players who had already assembled together in the same exact angle he was aiming, reading his every movement, his every intention.

'_Shit! Too late!'_ Sakusa exclaimed as he already engaged in a shot, sending the ball directly towards the twins. In one single motion, the tallest players on the North American Women Youth's volleyball team jumped, fully synchronized as Arissa's hands viciously blocked the ball and it fell to the ground, the opposing libero unable to reach and dig it in time. Kageyama couldn't believe his eyes and cursed Tsukishima for sucking at jumping as much as he did and being almost as tall as these girls. With one single swift block and perfect non-verbal communication, the turn ended as well as the match. Fuki Habarida's whistle blew and with that, Kageyama's shoulders relaxed as he watched the girls scream in joy, savoring their victory as their team hugged it out, leaving Tobio baffled, unaware of the silly grin he wore on his sweaty face.

_'Yes!'_ he heard Elia say.

'He just got_ canceled~_. Ended his whole career. Done.' chanted Arissa as she kissed her captain's forehead, this one giggling as she pushed the Nigerian-American player away. 'Don't do that!'

Kageyama slowly approached the North American Women Youth's volleyball team and Katharine grabbed his arm, pulling him into their team's victory circle.

'That's one of the most well-executed synchronized blocks I've ever seen in my entire life.' he stated. _Tsukishima is a damn dweeb compared to these two. Not even Date Tech could rival that synchronicity._

Zofia nudged his shoulder and chuckled. '_That_, my friend, is what we call 'round here the African Fortress.' she said as she grabbed her water bottle from the sideline of the court and drank deeply.

'It's one of our best defensive strategies.' continued Maria. 'It makes the other team panic when they see nothing but_ this _tall wall with no possibility of finding a spot to send the ball to. Not when _they're _jumping. No one can break through that.' she continued. Arissa and Elia snickered.

'Oh, please. Don't stop, Maria, continue. I love it when you worship us.' Maria groaned and rolled her eyes.

'Never again will I compliment you bitc-' Maria could feel Katharine's glare burning her back.

'Watch your language, _chikita_.' she warned the Mexican libero.

Tobio Kageyama stood there, amongst the North American Women's Youth volleyball team and for the first time since he arrived in Tokyo, he felt like he was home again.

'Hey, Katharine.' a voice called out to the captain. She turned around and saw Sakusa waiting for her across the net, his eyes directly looking into her grey ones. She hurried towards him, her long braid falling snuggly in the middle of her back.

For a moment, they stood there, silent. But Sakusa awkwardly cleared his throat and offered his hand (a gasp of shock escaped Komori Motoya's mouth - Sakusa was a known germaphobe after all) to the foreign player and offered her a rare, genuine smile.

'Thank you for the game.' he said. Katharine nodded and grabbed his hand, shaking it slowly.

'That was fun.' she simply replied. As she let go of his hand and slowly began to turn around to walk back to her team, Sakusa reached out to her again.

'Also…' he said, his voice quiet. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said about you or your team. Please accept my apology for my rudeness.' he said, his voice deep and sincere. Kageyama blinked and his mouth almost dropped to the ground, floored by what he had just witnessed. Katharine raised an eyebrow in surprise but gave Sakusa a bright smile in return.

'Apology accepted, Sakusa. Oh, should I call you Sakusa_-kun_? I wondered about that earlier. Is that alright with you?' she asked. Mocking laughter erupted behind Sakusa from his team's members and a blush appeared on his face, colors that one couldn't usually find on the Itachiyama's ace's complexion. He looked down and sighed, trying to hide the apparent traces of pink on his cheeks.

'Whatever makes you happy, Princess.' he said nonchalantly as he walked away, pulling a medical mask from his shorts' pocket. Katharine slowly walked back to her team and Maria pulled her aside, her warm brown eyes contacting Katharine's grey ones.

'What did he want? Do we have to go hood on him?' she asked, punching her left palm as if she was ready to start a fight. Katharine giggled and shook her head.

'No, it's ok. He's really not so bad.' She said as she joined her team again.

* * *

It had gotten pretty dark outside and after a good day's practice, Tobio Kageyama was downright exhausted. He sat outside on the gymnasium's front stairs, hair still wet from his warm shower, and took out his phone. He noticed the various notifications of text messages from the Karasuno High volleyball club and unlocked his phone to answer. When he saw Hinata's name on the group conversation in his messaging app, he groaned.

**Hinata (happy dumbass)**

Hey Kageyama! How's the camp?

**Tanaka (THE man)**

Yeah, beat some chumps butt yet?

Kageyama smirked at the memory of Sakusa's defeated face.

**Kageyama (His Majesty)**

Kind of. Grouped with a girls team for the week.

Whooped Sakusa Kiyoomi's butt.

**Daichi (Boss)**

You beat _Sakusa Kiyoomi?_ Are you lying?

You wouldn't dare lie to your captain, would you?

**Tanaka (THE man)**

YOU GOT TEAMED UP WITH GIRLS? YOU SWINE

**Nishinoya (CHICK MAGNET)**

TELL US EVERYTHING.

ARE THEY PRETTIER THAN KIYOKO

**Tanaka (THE man)**

No one is prettier than Kiyoko, douche

**Kageyama (His Majesty)**

They're good. _Really_ good.

Their captain is a monster.

And their blockers are like 6'3.

**Tsukishima (no nickname)**

You must make them look really good since you suck so bad at life.

Kageyama's forehead vein popped in anger.

**Kageyama (His Majesty)**

Shut your face, Tsukishima.

I don't even know who invited you in this group.

**Hinata (happy dumbass)**

I did!

Kageyama groaned again.

**Kageyama (His Majesty)**

Of course you did, dunce. What's up with you guys?

**Tsukishima (no nickname)**

Hinata snuck in the prefecture camp.

He's a ball boy now.

Perfect position for him.

**Kageyama (His Majesty)**

Are you serious? Hinata, you can't have. That's not ok.

**Hinata (happy dumbass)**

I have no regrets. IM LEARNING SO MUCH ^^

**Tsukishima (no nickname)**

Learning how to be a good ball boy is not good, idiot

**Tanaka (THE man)**

Who cares about this stupid camp

WHAT ABOUT THE GIRLS, KAGEYAMA

WE WANNA KNOW ABOUT THE GIRLS

**Nishinoya (CHICK MAGNET)**

YEAH WHAT ABOUT THE BABES

**Kageyama (His Majesty)**

I SAID THEY WERE GOOD

And who cares if they're pretty or not

As long as they can play

**Tanaka (THE man)**

Dude are you even serious

**Nishinoya (CHICK MAGNET)**

You're such a player (NOT)

WHAT ARE YOU DOING

Get in there and mingle

**Sugawara (Ray of Sunshine)**

Leave him alone, guys.

If Kageyama's into dudes, we must not judge him for it.

**Asahi (Gentle Bearded Giant)**

I second that. Also, these notifications are getting annoying.

Kageyama's face twisted in annoyance, his steel-blue eyes narrowing with growing frustration.

**Kageyama (His Majesty)**

I'M NOT INTO DUDES SUGA

They're just… _scary_.

All of them.

Especially their captain.

Behind that smile hides a demon. I'm telling you.

**Tsukishima (no nickname)**

You _would _be afraid of girls.

Tsukishima's messages made Kageyama want to throw his phone on the pavement. Instead, he smirked devilishly.

**Tsukishima's (no nickname) **nickname was changed to **ultimate twat**

by **Kageyama (His Majesty)**

**Kageyama (His Majesty**)

That was for your insolence, peasant.

**Tsukishima (ultimate twat)**

You're so immature. I'm out.

Kageyama heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see the girls from the North American Women's Youth volleyball team walk down the concrete stairs of the gymnasium, passing him by. Their hair was still wet from the showers and the hint of floral scents infiltrated his nostrils. He then felt a presence next to him and he turned his head around to see the smaller libero player, Maria, bend down next to him, wearing a noticeable blush on her caramel-colored cheeks.

'Hey, Tobio. That's your name, right? Tobio Kageyama?' she asked. He simply nodded.

'Wanna come have dinner with us? It's a team dinner. And it just so happens that it's sushi night. Katharine's paying but don't tell her I told you. She'll have my head.' she said, uttering the last part of her sentence in whispers.

_I love sushi_, he thought. _But I should stay here too and practice some more…_ He shrugged his indecisiveness off and nodded politely. 'Yeah, ok. Thank you for inviting me.'

_They're pretty cool I guess_, he thought to himself.

He looked at his phone one last time before getting up.

**Kageyama (His Majesty)**

I'm going out to dinner with the girls.

Talk to you guys later.

**Tanaka (THE man)**

You're going out with them?!

I knew it

KAGEYAMA'S GOT GAME

Kageyama closed his phone and as his tall figure basked in the creeping purple colors of the setting sun, he put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the North American Women's Youth volleyball team with a very, _very _empty stomach and with the tiniest of smiles on his lips.


	5. The Favor

Alarm clock. The dawn's soft hues in the sky.

Groans and mumbles. Tired girls.

Bickering to see who would be using the shower first.

This was Katharine's reality as captain of the North American Women's Youth volleyball team. Or at least, it had been her reality for the last four days of training camp. That morning, it had been the noise from the busy streets of Tokyo that had to awaken her from her slumber. Tokyo was a city of a great many qualities, but it certainly wasn't a place to relax and sleep peacefully. Katharine had woken up a while before her smartphone's alarm was set to ring and she had taken this opportunity to get up and use the shower before her teammates. She would never admit to this to herself, but she needed those precious minutes alone in the morning to psyche herself for a day of training. Although she had never expected to enjoy the sound of Maria's snoring or Elizabeth's mumbling in her sleep, Katharine was an only child and for the last week, she had missed the silence she was used to at home.

As she dried her dark hair with her towel, she heard Maria groan in her sleep, her messy curly brown hair covering her face. Before long, her alarm clock awoke the rest of her team. Maria hit her head on the railing of the upper bump bed and quickly rubbed her forehead.

'Oh, _for fuck's sake!_' she whined. 'That hurt!' she cried out, lying down again. Katharine chuckled at her best friend's clumsiness.

'Good morning, little miss sunshine.' she replied to her friend, who seemed now very grumpy.

'_Cállate_, Katharine!' she groaned. Zofia threw her a pillow. 'I can't stand this room any longer! It's been five days camping with you lot! I'm over it.' she said, reaching out for her phone and groaned again when she saw the time. 'And I can't stand waking up so early. And most of all…' she said, as she looked up at Elizabeth, who seemed to fall back asleep.

'I can't stand her talking in her sleep anymore! Your mumbling and fumbling in the night… it's so damn annoying. I guess you make up for you being mute in the day during the night - unfortunately for all of us.'

Elizabeth frowned and smirked. 'I have a brain. It works when I sleep at night. You should try it.'

Zofia chimed in. 'Yeah, you wouldn't know about that, Maria. You know, _brain stuff._' she added playfully. 'Not since you met _you-know-who_, anyway.' This seemed to tick off the Mexican libero in return, putting the pressure of the small argument off of Elizabeth's shoulders.

Katharine hasn't failed to notice just how sometimes, just _sometimes_, Zofia would subtly protect Elizabeth from others' mockery and harsh words. Katharine never mentioned anything to the Polish-American spiker about this but deep down, even if they fought a lot, Zofia cared deeply for Elizabeth and it seemed only she could bother the curly-haired Texan setter. It was a relief to know that Elizabeth would have some kind of protection when the rest of the team would not be around her and silently thanked Zofia for being there for her and to be her friend amidst being annoyed with the Texan setter most of the time.

'_What did you just say_, Zofia?' she asked, evidently trying to make Zofia repeat herself. The blue-eyed Polish American spiker snickered again.

'I said your brain hasn't been functioning properly ever since you met Tobio _Ka-ge-ya-ma_.' she said, pronouncing Tobio's last name very slowly, enunciating every syllable to taunt her libero teammate. Katharine glanced at Maria, who now wore a furious blush on her freckled caramel-colored cheeks.

'This has nothing to do with this.' she said, her voice firmly resonating in the room. Arissa and Elia got up and grabbed their towels and headed towards the bathroom, laughing. Katharine knew that if Arissa and Elia joined in the small altercation, their neighbors would soon knock on the door to ask what the ruckus was all about. But she was too slow to react.

'_Oh, don't worry about the ball, Tobio-kun! I'll pass it to you!_' said Arissa, imitating Marie during practice. Marie turned her head around, her cheeks now flushed red. Elizabeth sighed and rolled her face on her pillow, exasperated by the girls' banter.

'_Oh, I'm sorry Tobio-kun, I'll get it next time!_' continued Elia as the twins snickered their way to the bathroom door and closed it.

Maria hid her face in her pillow and squealed in embarrassment.

'You guys are not funny! I sound like a complete idiot!' she said, hiding her deepening blush as Katharine sighed. Zofia had enough of this conversation and brought Elizabeth along with her downstairs, to the main lobby, to buy snacks from the array of vending machines. Katharine took this opportunity to walk to her libero's single bed and sat next to her, patting her back as Maria kept her face well hidden behind her pillow, unwilling to show her face.

'Listen to me, _amiga_. I can see the, uh, attraction. I mean, Tobio is very serious about his professional career as a volleyball player, no doubt about it. The girls are being jerks right now because you let them see that you're embarrassed. Don't be. If only you knew who Zofia had a crush on in elementary school, you'd be the one laughing.' she whispered to Maria, who slowly removed the pillow from her face and shyly looked at her captain.

'Was he ugly?' Maria asked, slightly curious. Katharine grinned. 'Well, he is _now_.' she replied as growing grins appeared on their faces.

'You always know what to say to make me feel better, _chikita_.' said Maria, gently nudging her teammate's arm. Katharine returned to her bed and checked her emails while Maria brushed her long curly brown locks.

'Now's not the time for me to be distracted by a boy. A big, strong, Japanese volleyball player-' she inhaled and exhaled deeply. '-is not an excuse to lose my focus. My _abuelo_ would chew me out right about now...' she repeated to herself, trying to persuade her own rebellious mind to stop thinking about Tobio Kageyama, prodigy setter of Karasuno High School. But Katharine giggled mockingly again, looking at Maria with playful eyes.

'But his _eyes_, though.' she quietly said to Maria as she narrowed her brown eyes at Katharine. Her captain's continued taunts were not well received by the Mexican libero, who threw a pillow at her.

'You're horrible, you know that? Wait 'til you meet a guy you actually like. I'll _personally_ make sure you don't hear the end of it. ' she replied to her, turning her back to Katharine, who seemed to rather enjoy messing around with her team's libero. Katharine scoffed and shook her head playfully.

'Yeah, sure. Like that will ever happen.'

Before long, the team had washed, packed their backpacks full of equipment, and headed straight to the metro station near their hostel, ready to face their last day of the All-Japan Youth training camp.

* * *

Katharine's chest heaved heavily, sweat forming on her forehead. Matchpoint already. _Who knew I'd be having so much fun out here_, she thought. She took a glance to her right and saw Zofia's face also covered in sweat and her cheeks were bright red. As exhausted as she seemed to be, she wore a slight smirk on her face, indicating that she was also having a great time practicing with the boys from the All-Japan Youth training camp. Even the shy and usually silent Elizabeth seemed to be out of breath, her chest heaving from the intensity of their exercises.

Katharine could feel every muscle in her body. It had been a while since she had put this much pressure on her body. The ache she felt throughout her legs, arms and fingers brought her a familiar sense of exhilaration that she had missed. How she loved to hit that yellow and blue Mikasa ball, it had been her passion ever since she remembered. She heard Maria exhaled loudly from her position in the back row and Katharine briefly turned her head to find a smirking Maria. Next to her, she found Elizabeth slightly bent over in a defensive position, arms forward and away from her body as she got ready to receive the opposing team's serve, her green eyes focused on the net and the person serving at the other end of the court, Korai Hoshiumi.

Despite his small stature and his unusual looks, Hoshiumi had proved to be quite the ferocious little spiker, thought Katharine as she turned her head again, slightly bending her upper body forward, ready to receive his serve.

'Nice serve, Hoshiumi!' Another one of his teammates cried. 'Hit it!'

The shorter spiker jumped in the air and smashed the ball mid-air, sending it straight towards Maria, who caught the serve gracefully and effortlessly, sending it high up in the air to give time for the game to breathe and for Zofia to gently push the ball towards Tobio Kageyama, who rushed to the front of their court, ready to pass the ball. His blood boiled in his veins with excitement. All this time, he had waited for a perfectly aligned pass to the North American Women's Youth volleyball team's captain, Katharine. His blue eyes met her grey ones as he inhaled sharply, ready to see what she was really made of. As he pushed the ball in her direction with utmost precision, he saw her run from mid-court to front, soaring high in the air as she raised her small hand past her ear, towards the ceiling, ready to hit Kageyama's ball.

Katharine scanned Sakusa's team and saw a wall of three tall players aligned with her own body on the other side of the net, their hands rising high in the air, higher than her head, mounting a dominant and imposing barrage.

_There's no way I'll be able to spike this one deep in the court. Too many hands to go through and I'm losing altitude. I don't think that I can hit that… They're too tall. Only one thing left to do at this point…_ Katharine's eyes opened wide when the ball connected with her palm.

Kageyama frowned angrily. _What the hell is she doing? Spike it, damn it! You're at the perfect height! That toss was perfect for a spike! What are you doing-_ His thoughts were interrupted with a small thump coming from the ball as Katharine's small hand pushed it sideways, out of the blocking line, away from the blockers' hands, aways from their strong arms and down the net in a short dink. The opposing team's libero couldn't make it in time and the blue and yellow ball gently hit the rubberized laminate of the court floor, ending the game.

With a loud victorious roar, Maria jumped on her captain's back, wearing a wide smile on her face.

'Oh, that one was very good, _chikita_. _Muy bien_.' she said, Katharine's grey eyes now turning to Tobio Kageyama, who bit his lip in anger. Katharine knew that Tobio had sent her a linear, perfect toss for a spike close to the net. She knew of what she had to do and what she could have done, but instead, Kageyama cursed under his breath, knowing she held herself back. She looked away from him and headed outside of the gymnasium, not saying a word to him. While the rest of the girls bowed respectfully to the other team, Sakusa Kiyoomi called out to Kageyama.

'Good game, King. Your outside hitter's last dink was cheap but good. Too bad Princess can't hit a spike when you toss at her. Doesn't seem like she trusts you.' he said quietly to the Karasuno setter before heading back to the side court to take a break. Kageyama's frustration took hold of him, his expression turning into a sour frown. He could hear the other girls cheering as they walked towards him. He angrily huffed and walked away from them, earning a raised brow from Maria.

'What's up with him?' called out Elia. 'He looks mad.' replied Arissa. Elizabeth and Zofia looked confused as well and looked at Maria. She shrugged. 'I don't know. I'll go talk to him.'

'You do that.' replied Zofia with a smirk on her face as she tauntingly winked at her teammate. Maria rolled her eyes at her and jogged behind Tobio Kageyama, quickly catching up to him.

'Tobio-kun. Hey, Tobio-kun. What's wrong? Don't we deserve a little group hug after that game?' she asked. No response. 'Tobio-kun?' she tried again, this time quieter and seemingly more nervous. Tobio Kageyama groaned and turned to her, taking advantage of his height to tower over the Mexican libero.

'Why didn't she spike it?' he asked. 'My toss was perfectly good enough for her to spike it. Why didn't she go for it?' he asked, determined to get an answer. Maria blinked in surprise, but soon looked away from him and sighed. She nervously began to fumble on her words and twirled a brown curl around her finger innocently.

'It's not your fault.' she said. 'I wouldn't worry about it.' she continued. But Kageyama wasn't satisfied with her answer. He threw his towel on the ground and his steely blue eyes narrowed.

'I'm telling you that I tossed it _perfectly._ She should have spiked it like I wanted her to.' he stated. Maria blinked again and shrugged his visible anger off.

'I'm sure Katharine didn't mean to make you feel like your tosses aren't good enough, Tobio. She probably had her reasons not to spike it. I wouldn't worry about it.' she replied as she walked back to the other girls.

Before long, the whistle blew and Fuki Habarida awarded the All-Japan Youth camp participants a much needed fifteen-minute break.

Kageyama hastily walked out of the gymnasium and stepped outside, inhaling deeply as he tried to calm himself down. He sat down on the front steps and groaned angrily again. He had to ask himself why he was so upset that Katharine didn't spike his toss. They had played together for almost a week now and Tobio Kageyama had still yet to see her _truly_ spike. The fire, the power, the hunger to hit the ball that she had demonstrated during their first game when she pulled a five-in-a-row ace serves haunted him. He had examined each player of his practice team and had seen exceptional plays from all of them. He understood why they had been chosen to represent their continent in the next World Tournament.

And yet… he was still unsatisfied with their captain's performance. He heard the way the girls talked about her and how brutal her spikes were and yet he hadn't seen one of those fabled hits. Why was she holding back from him? While lost in thought, Kageyama didn't feel Katharine sitting next to him on the gymnasium outside steps. When she touched his shoulder, he jumped in surprise and she giggled, her pearly white teeth showing and her grey eyes half-closed from her smile.

'The girls told me you'd be here.' she said. 'I think I know why you're reacting like this.' she said. He simply turned his gaze away from her. He heard her sigh and he mustered the courage to ask her what was on his mind.

'Why didn't you spike? I tossed it the way you like it.' he asked. 'A spiker needs to trust its setter.' he replied. Katharine looked at the sky and sigh. An embarrassed blush appeared on her pale face. 'It's not about trust.' she said. But Kageyama's blue eyes lit up with an undying curiosity that made her giggle.

'You seem to forget that I'm not a guy, Tobio. That spike would have been perfect for someone a little bit taller than me. I'm actually the one embarrassed because I couldn't feel the spike at all, but I didn't want to upset you. Sometimes I wish I was as tall as Elia and Arissa!' she said, grinning embarrassingly. Tobio Kageyama turned his head towards her, blinking furiously. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. _How could I have forgotten about her height? Why did I let my own damn pride blind me from her limitations? I missed the chance to see her spike! I missed the chance to see if she truly is like __**him**_… He suddenly felt very ashamed of his attitude towards her and profusely apologized, but Katharine laughed it off.

'Don't worry about it, Tobio. I could have spiked it and tried to ram their defenses, but then they would have gained an advantage over us and surely win the game. I did what I thought was best for the team and to ensure our victory. Yeah, the dink wasn't flashy, but it made us win. Sometimes, one has to bite the bullet for other's sake. As you say around here, _shoganai_.' She said as she walked away from him, rejoining with the girls from her team inside. Kageyama sighed, visibly annoyed at himself. _Good going, idiot. You look like a selfish cretin again_, he told himself.

Tobio Kageyama sat on the steps, stumped at his own carelessness. He considered himself very adept at the sport of volleyball and even with all of his years of experience on a court, he had failed to remind himself that his current practice team was indeed very different from his own back home and that he still had a lot to learn about leadership and team spirit. _I haven't been adaptable enough_, he told himself. _There are things I must still learn to see and to feel on the court. And it seems like they, of all people, can help me reach this goal… Yes, it seems like we could all use a little of their knowledge back home- wait. __**That's it!**_

Kageyama swiftly took his phone out of his pocket and hurried through his contact list to find the one person he knew would give an unbiased opinion on his foolish idea. When he reached '**Keishin Ukai'**, he pressed on the dial button and waited for what seemed an eternity before the coach of Karasuno High School's boys' volleyball team picked up.

'_Hello? Kageyama? Is that you?' _he heard his coach answer. Kageyama smiled.

'Coach Ukai. Yeah, it's me. How are things with the guys?' he asked. He heard Ukai chuckle.

'_I mean, I can't complain. The boys are doing well. But without most of my first years around, the gym feels kinda empty. So I heard you were playing with girls at your little prodigy camp? Foreign players that will compete in the next youth World Tournament, eh? Not bad at all. How's that going for you?'_ he asked. Kageyama knew by the sound of his coach's voice that he was outside smoking.

'Yes. You heard right. Actually, they're really good, coach. Better than good. And that's why I'm calling you right now. I need to ask a favor and I need you to not tell the guys about this.' he continued. He heard Ukai laugh at the other end of the line.

'_Oh, wow. Kageyama asking for a favor… well, I think hell just froze over. What is it you want?'_

* * *

The last sound of the whistle created a small pit inside of Katharine's stomach. She heard Fuki Habarida chuckle as some of the participants, including Tobio Kageyama crashed to the ground, exhausted. Large strands of wet black hair stuck to his forehead as he sat down on the ground, clutching to his side as it cramped from exhaustion. He was inhaling deeply and exhaling sharply but kept a strong face, his steely blue eyes looking towards the All-Japan Youth training camp coach.

'Oh, poor things! I guess I _did_ go a little hard on you guys right before letting you go back to your normal lives. Silly me!' he said as he scratched the back of his head innocently. Katharine giggled as she sat down next to Maria, rubbing the smaller libero's back as she caught her breath.

'This man.' she started to say out of breath, pointing at Fuki Habarida. 'Is an asshole. _Look at me_.' she said to Katharine, pointing back to herself and her sweaty body. 'I'm drenched. I look and feel like a wet poodle. And here I thought he would have given us the easy way out for the last day…' she said as she let herself fall on her back, sighing in relief as the cold ground caressed her heated body. Katharine smiled.

'We didn't come here on vacation, Maria. He had to drill us to the very bitter end.' she replied, tightening her ponytail as she felt stray strands of dark hair fall messily on her shoulders. The last leg of the training camp had been drills and passing exercise and it was safe to assume that she hadn't been drilled in such a way in a very, _very _long time. Her forearms itched and tickled inside from the continuous strain that the hard passes and blocks put on her skin. As she regained her composure and wiped the sweat off her face, she crouched down and sat on the ground and stretched her legs thoroughly. She then heard Fuki Habarida's voice echo throughout the gymnasium as the participants stretched.

'This concluded the training camp's activities. Thank you for being here all week and bringing what you learned here at home. And don't forget that talent is something that you nurture and develop on your own and with your team. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to leave. It's been nice teaching you and I hope to see some of you play during the upcoming Spring Tournament.' he said, bowing down to his pupils. As the participants thanked him, Katharine wondered what this tournament he spoke of was about. As Maria walked away to join Elia and Arissa for stretching, Katharine heard footsteps approaching and raised her head slowly to see Sakusa Kiyoomi sitting near her.

'Hey, Princess.' he called out to her. She nodded at him. 'I'm sorry for the last spike I sent your way. You received it well.' he said to her. Her eyes widened in utter shock. Sakusa Kiyoomi was complimenting her. There were no harsh words that came before that and no insults that followed his statement either. He was being genuinely nice to her. _Wow, what a week of intense training can do to a guy_, she thought. Katharine cleared her throat and offered him a small smile as she showed him her arms.

'Yeah. Thanks for that.' she said, Sakusa quickly noticing the redness on her skin. He chuckled.

'You're a tough little cookie, I'll give you that. But now that the camp is almost over, what happens to you guys? What's in store for you next?' he asked. She cocked an eyebrow.

'Sounds like you're curious, Sakusa-kun.' she said, noticing a faint trace of pink on his cheeks. She made no mention of it.

'Well, you see…' she started as she continued stretching. 'We still have another week to spend here in Japan before we go. And since the other training camp that was scheduled for us has fallen through, it looks like we'll play tourists until we go back home.' she said to him.

'Isn't that nice.' he said as a loud sigh escaped his lips. He then handed her a piece of paper that she unrolled slowly. When she saw what was written on it, she quickly raised her head with a smile.

'Is this… your _phone number_?' she asked, incredulously happy as she wore a growing smile on her face. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

'Calm down, Princess. It's not like _that_. Don't get any ideas. I was just-' he said, looking away shyly. 'I was just about to say that if you wanted to know the good spots to visit in town or if you need tips, I could help you out. That's all.' he said, getting up again. But when he turned around to walk away, he felt a body crashing against his and strong arms pulling him in a back hug, making his cheeks flushed with hues of pink and red.

'Oh, thank you Sakusa-kun! You're so nice!' she said, happy giggles flowing out of her mouth that embarrassed the Itachiyama Academy's ace beyond known words.

'No hugs, Princess. _**No hugs!**_' she exclaimed as he tried to unwrap her arms from himself to no avail. The sudden rush of panic that overtook him fueled Katharine's happiness.

'Promise we'll keep in touch, Sakusa-kun.' Katharine continued, further pushing Sakusa Kiyoomi in the depths of deep, deep embarrassment when she refused to let go. When she finally eased away from him, she heard the other boys at the back of the gym whisper and laugh, making Sakusa's face glow with a red, vibrant hue. He turned to her sharply as she giggled.

'You _publically_ **hugged** me. My own _**mother **_doesn't do that. And you're _full of germs_. And you're _sweaty_. And _gross_.' he said, humiliated and making Katharine laugh even more so.

'Oh, nobody told me I couldn't do that, Sakusa-kun. Are you mad at me?' she asked innocently, her expression unremorseful. Sakusa huffed at her giggles, almost indignantly so. He shook his head slowly, eyes still narrowed as his black orbs met her grey ones.

'No.' he said dryly. 'And I'm telling you now. Never do that to me again.' he continued, incredulous. 'Do people practice that mundane and mortifying public display of friendship and affection often where you are from?' he asked, his lips pursed. She nodded with excitement.

'Yeah, all the time! It's nice. It means we can trust and we like each other.' she told him. Sakusa's face twisted in disgust at her statement.

'Weird and unnecessary is what I call it.' he mumbled as he walked away from a grinning Katharine.

'You didn't promise, Sakusa-kun. I'm waiting.' she called out to him. She heard him groan loudly in the distance before he turned his head to her again and scoffed.

'Fine, Princess. I promise. Now leave me alone.' he said as he grabbed his satchel and quickly walked out of the gymnasium, the other boys from the camp following him as they snickered behind his back on their way to the boys' locker room.

Katharine triumphantly walked back to her team and wrapped her towel around her neck and reached for her water bottle when she saw Tobio Kageyama do the same further down the side court. He then grabbed his satchel and walked towards the North American Women's Youth volleyball team with a decisive step.

'Hey Tobio-kun. Had fun today?' she asked him. Tobio nodded.

'Yeah. I guess you can call drills fun. Listen, Katharine. May I speak to you and your team?' he asked. At the sound of that, Maria turned around, paying the utmost attention to the tall blue-eyed setter.

'We're listening.' she said as the other girls giggled at her, also paying close attention to Kageyama, who suddenly felt the girls' eyes on him, making him nervous. His throat felt dry and tight but he armed himself with courage and spoke out.

'I know you only have one week left in Japan before you go home and Tokyo apparently is a wonderful city to visit...' he started. The sweat on his brow accentuated his nervousness. Confused and intrigued colorful eyes looked at him. He swallowed dryly and immediately bent his head and torso down stiffly.

'I know I'm asking for too much.' he stated loudly, his voice stiff with anxious trepidation. 'But would you be willing to come back home to Sendai with me for the next week and help train my team for the upcoming Spring Tournament?' he asked, his words blurting out of his mouth at an alarming speed. The girls looked at Katharine, dumbfounded as they blinked in surprise. Katharine silently gasped, her facial expression demonstrating shock.

'...To help you train? For that tournament Fuki Habarida mentioned earlier?' Maria asked. Tobio, still bowing, nodded.

'Yes.' he confirmed. 'It's the most important tournament of the year. My high school team has placed first in our prefecture and we'll be heading back here in Tokyo in three months' time to play against the best teams in the country. And I've never practiced with players as talented as you before. It makes me realize that we need much more work before we'll ever be ready to compete. We could use your help.' he said as his voice quieted down.

Katharine, completely stumped, looked at her teammates. She met Maria's, whose expression couldn't express more happiness. Maria's chocolate brown eyes traveled to meet Zofia's icy blue ones. In turn, she then looked at Elizabeth, Arissa, and Elia who were also taken aback by his request. Katharine turned back to Kageyama, who stood immobile in front of the North American Women's Youth volleyball team, still bowing, hair gently hiding his forehead as he breathed slowly and nervously before them. Katharine looked back at her team again for a silent consensus and with simple yet affirmative nods, they all gave their captain their approval to accept. Katherine sighed and smiled.

'Well, Tobio. You and your boys better make this interesting for us. We'll go with you.' she said. Kageyama exhaled in relief. He hadn't noticed he had been holding his breath and felt the sudden surge of anxiety leave his body. He rose again, this time with a small smile on his face.

'Thank you.' he said. 'You won't regret it. We'll work hard.' he said, his steely blue eyes shining with a renewed fire.

Arissa and Elia giggled and snickered before the oldest twin, Arissa, called out to him.

'On one condition, _setter boy_.' she said. Kageyama nodded silently, listening closely. At this point, Tobio Kageyama would happily do anything to thank them for their time. Zofia grinned at Maria, who's familiar blush appeared on her cheeks. She turned away from the Polish-American spiker, who had caught on to her inner happiness about the possibility of spending more time with Tobio Kageyama.

'You need to come with us to the city tonight. We can't read Japanese and you could translate for us.' she said. Tobio Kageyama quickly nodded, accepting their proposal and the girls seemed content with their deal.

'Excellent.' replied Zofia. 'Because we can't rely on Maria worth for shit when it comes to translating, or reading, or anything that involves brain activity.' she replied, earning a grunt from the shorter libero.

'_Shut up, Zofia!_' she cursed back to her, Elizabeth rolling her eyes.

'Don't be so mean to her.' she said to Zofia. 'We all have challenges.' she continued, making Maria evermore so annoyed with her fellow spiker and setter. Katharine gave him a thumbs up and a wide grin.

'Awesome. Meet us in the parking lot in half an hour?' she asked him. He nodded politely and watched the girls walk away in the direction of the ladies' locker room before he realized he had forgotten to ask why they were going to Tokyo's busiest streets. He raised his voice and called out to Katharine, who stopped walking to turn her back to him, her grey eyes meeting his blue ones.

'Why do you girls want to go downtown?' he asked. In response, he heard her gloat sinisterly, a playful malicious smile growing her face.

'Shopping. _Duh_.' she replied to him as she ran back to her teammates, who disappeared from the gym, leaving Tobio Kageyama aghast and utterly annoyed. He rolled his eyes and groaned as a loud sigh escaped his mouth. _Take one for the team, Kageyama. Don't be a coward. A favor for a favor, _he thought, trying to convince himself that the experience couldn't be so bad.

But a chill ran down his spine. It was a known understatement to say that Tobio Kageyama _hated_ shopping, even for himself. And now he was going on a spending spree (of all things!) with six loud and obnoxious girls who probably thrived on it.

Kageyama's unimpressed face said it all as a shameful blush appeared on his face.

'What's the worst thing that could happen?' he mumbled to himself. It took a minute for Kageyama to think of the _literal_ worst thing that they could make him do on this little adventure of theirs. He stopped and a silent whimper escaped his lips as the highly probable outcome was beginning to draw itself in his mind and his palms suddenly became sweaty again.

_Please. Not a lingerie store._


	6. Homeward Bound

Tobio Kageyama was a proud young man. Never did he do anything to hurt his reputation in the face of others. He prided himself in being in control of every single situation that happened in his life and on the court and he would never, _ever_ show any sign of personal discomfort when out of his comfort zone. He had promised himself long ago, on that court during the finals of the prefectural middle school volleyball tournament, that he would keep his head high during moments of adversity.

**But.**

The girls from the North American Women Youth's volleyball team had been the exception to his own personal rule. Never in his life had he been so _utterly_ discomposed as when he discovered the pure horror of shopping with teenage girls. And specifically, with these teenage girls.

As they grabbed his arm and pulled him forcefully through the busy and crowded streets of downtown Tokyo in the Shinjuku area, Kageyama knew he was in for a rough, no, a _brutal _time. He had envisioned the worst possible outcome of this little shopping trip of theirs and what it would cost his pride. He was shocked when he discovered that his mind had not been as twisted and perverse as theirs when it came to him suffering to pay for his favor. Not only did the girls drag him by force into the dreaded lingerie and women clothing stores (people _definitely_ gave him looks as he was hauled inside the feminine stores by six loud foreign girls) he hated so much, but they had also opened his eyes to possibly the most haunting shop of all. **The makeup store.**_ What the fuck is this place?_ He thought before Maria excitedly pulled on his arm, her face expression pure joy and excitement. 'Oh, come on, Tobio-kun!'

But Kageyama planted his feet firmly into the ground, stubbornly resisting her pull. _There is no way I'm going in there. That's it. I mean, someone has to draw the line and __**I'm**__ doing it. _Maria saw the horror on his face when he read the black and white sign on top of the store, having heard from Tanaka's sister Saeko of its popularity. _This is a trap_, he thought.

'Oh, please! Tobio-kun, I need your help. You promised. I swear it won't take long.' she said as the other girls rushed in with uncontained excitement and giggling less than innocently. He frowned severely at the Mexican libero.

'No.' he replied to her, his tall body towering over hers. _I'm bigger than her. Much bigger and heavier. She can't pull me in there even if she tried. That's it, Kageyama. You tell her how it is. If I step one foot inside, I'll die. No more Spring Tournament._

His thoughts ran wild but came to an abrupt stop when he noticed that her lips were drawn into a small pleading pout, her warm and soft brown eyes meeting his steely blue ones. Kageyama noticed the small gathering of freckles on her nose and the thickness of her batting dark lashes before finding himself blushing again before her as the doe-eyed girl suddenly weakened his resolve with her unique beauty. The loud noise of the crowded streets suddenly became like a muted echo to him. Only the warmth of the sensation of her hand on his arm mattered. _Damn it, I can't think like that! _Kageyama found himself standing still, jolted from her intense yet warm gaze.

'_Onegaishimasu._' she gently begged this time in a clumsy attempt to speak Japanese as she turned her small pout into a corner smile that destroyed Kageyama's already failing will. His heart started to beat faster, his cheeks got warmer and he suddenly pulled his arm away in a desperate attempt to not let his flushed cheeks be the center of attention. He then embarrassingly looked away as he groaned in defeat as Maria smiled slyly, knowing he was so close to caving in.

'Ugh, _fine_.' he replied, defeated before he found himself following her inside the crowded store, her excited giggles the only sound he heard amidst the buzzing of voices around him as she dragged him through the makeup products aisles. While he translated publicity panels and prices to her, Maria made him feel like he was the only one in the store with her, which made Kageyama's stomach flutter. When Arissa and Elia saw that Maria had convinced the tall dark-haired and blushing volleyball player inside the store, they looked at each other and giggled and rolled their eyes, knowing perfectly well that Maria had used her Latin charm to sway him.

'Sucker.' Elia mumbled.

'Poor thing. He's done for.' replied Arissa as the twins fist-bumped comically.

While Maria was looking at an overpriced face moisturizer, Kageyama couldn't help but notice all the bruises over her caramel-colored skin. Being a libero, she was bound to have a couple of blue-hued bruises all over, that was a given. It, however, didn't take away from its beautiful shade of caramel and Kageyama couldn't help himself but to impolitely stare at her, examining her from top to bottom, from her brown curls held up in a bun to the curves of her figure to the strength in her legs. _Shit._ Kageyama shook his head, trying to dissuade his own self from pursuing his train of thoughts, but the short young woman that stood beside him had made him more curious than he would like to admit. Before he could arm himself with the courage to talk to her, he heard Arissa and Elia call out to them from the exit of the store.

'Hey, you two! We're done here! Come on! We need to get back before we miss the next train!' said Elia. Maria grinned and headed outside, leaving Kageyama in front of the skincare demonstrator, scowling at his own foolishness. He felt a presence next to him as a saleswoman approached him.

'Hi, there. Looking for a good face wash-'

'_**Hell no!'**_ he firmly told her, a familiar scowl decorating his face. Annoyed, he walked away brashly as he joined the girls outside. His eyes met Katharine's, who gave him a warm smile.

'Had fun?' she asked. His eyes narrowed angrily. The passive-aggressive groan that escaped Kageyama's lips was answer enough for her. She smirked and bowed respectfully, her long braided dark hair falling over her shoulder.

'Thanks for your company, Tobio. You were of great help.' said Katharine. Kageyama rolled his eyes and sighed with exasperation.

'I'll meet you at the Tokyo Train Station tomorrow morning at 10. Don't be late.' he said, ready to leave. Before he could run away from them and flee to the boys' dormitories at the training camp's gymnasium facility, he turned around again and saw Maria waving goodbye at him, the silly grin she wore on her face making his stomach nervously twist with anticipation once again. As Kageyama escaped from the girls of North American Women's Youth volleyball team, he couldn't help but smile at the thought of the small Mexican libero's high pitched voice calling him by his name with her thick Spanish accent.

As he hurried to the nearest metro station, he couldn't help but miss his own teammates of Karasuno High School's volleyball club. _I need to have a conversation with Tanaka and Nishinoya about this whole 'girls' thing. Because I think I'm screwed._

* * *

Katharine watched outside the train window as the bullet train to Sendai made the landscape outside pass by at the speed of light. Next to her sat Elizabeth, who had been kneading her small volleyball plush nervously while listening to music. Small beads of sweat rested on her forehead as she closed her eyes shut. Katharine took a glance at her team's setter and frowned, aware that Elizabeth was a nervous traveler and that inability to sometimes express her inside turmoils made her even more nervous. Katharine gently tapped her on the leg and Elizabeth's green eyes opened slightly, giving her captain an uncertain and anxious filled stare.

'It'll be fine, Elizabeth. Do you want some sleeping tablets?' she asked. The setter simply nodded. Within a few minutes, Elizabeth had been asleep in her seat with her head gently propped on Katharine's shoulder, as the two of them were so used to doing whenever a long commute together would ensue. Tobio Kageyama was sitting in the row behind the North American Women's Youth volleyball team and couldn't help but notice that the usually quiet and nervous Texan setter had fallen asleep so peacefully.

'What's wrong with her?' he asked.

Katharine heard him from her seat and frowned. 'Nothing's _wrong_ with her. She doesn't like traveling all that much.' she replied. Kageyama frowned.

'Motion sickness?' he asked. 'It's pretty common.' But Katharine knew that it wasn't motion sickness at all that made Elizabeth so agitated.

'It's a little bit more complicated than that, I'm afraid.' she replied. 'I'm sorry, I wish I could speak face to face with you, but… I wouldn't want to wake her up.' she said.

'It's fine. I understand. My teammate doesn't do so well with long trips either. He gets so nervous about games that he can't hold his food. He puked all over me once. Gross.' Kageyama replied, the image of Hinata also throwing up on Tanaka's lap on their way to their first match still haunting his mind and nostrils. Katharine gently giggled.

'Elizabeth is not nervous because of the upcoming games. She's just a little different than most.'

Kageyama could see the sleeping Texan setter in the void space between hers and Katharine's seat from his own, a row back. She had completely fallen prey to dreams and seemed now relaxed.

'I noticed something about you.' said Tobio Kageyama as he looked outside as well. 'You are not just captain of your team, but also their caretaker, their translator, and their trip organizer. Why do you have so many responsibilities?' he asked, genuinely curious as to why she was putting all this pressure on her already crowded shoulders. Katharine thought for a moment but gave him a simple answer.

'Because I care about them.' she replied. 'I don't do this because I was put in charge.' she continued. 'I do this because they trust me.' she said, slowly taking a blanket out of her day trip bag and putting it on Elizabeth's thighs.

She had noticed the small goosebumps that have appeared on the Texan setter's legs from the strong air conditioning and that Elizabeth would be more comfortable that way. Kageyama's thoughts were troubled by her statement. _Why do I feel like I don't fully understand what she's talking about? Why is her concept of trust and friendship so different from mine? What is it that I lack? What is it that still eludes me?_

'Tell me more about your team, Tobio. Who are they and what are they like?' she said, cutting his mental discourse short. Kageyama shrugged at the thought of the guys from his own team, but couldn't help to smile.

'They're ok, I guess.' he replied. 'Our captain is Daichi Sawamura. Big, strong, dependable. He's our defensive specialist. He's a third-year and he… well actually, he makes me think of you a bit.' said Kageyama.

'We all look up to him. And then there's Suga- I mean, Koushi Sugawara. He used to be the regular setter of the club before Coach Ukai put me in as the official setter for Karasuno. It made me feel bad for a minute, but Suga is such a good volleyball player that any position he plays now, he excels at it.' he said. Katharine listened to him passively as she made sure Elizabeth stayed asleep and remained comfortable. She had never thought that Kageyama could speak for more than two consecutive minutes but was pleasantly surprised to find him rather enjoying opening up about the boys from the Karasuno High School volleyball team as if he almost had missed them during the training camp. Almost.

'And then, there's our outside hitter and ace Azumane Asahi. Another third year. He's everything one wants in a spiker: he's big, he's tall, he's got power… But he's so shy and humble about it. I don't get it. A dude that's so massive and so kind at the same time… It's almost as puzzling as the man-bun he sports...' mumbled Kageyama. 'And then, there's Ryunosuke Tanaka. Second-year spiker. I used to think he was just a rowdy obnoxious bum, but he's saved my ass on the court more times than I can count. He's always in a good mood. Much like Yu Nishinoya, our libero.' continued Kageyama, surprised at his own chattiness.

Katharine giggled. 'Ah, he's a bit like our Zofia.' she said, pointing further up the train rows, right at her own blonde outside hitter. 'Except for the 'good mood' part. We really haven't seen that side of her yet. One can only hope.' She knew Zofia had heard her comment and saw in the distance a distinct middle finger directed straight at her, Maria giggling at her side.

'I _heard_ that, Katharine.' was all that Zofia said before returning to her conversation with Maria, Arissa, and Elia, who had been seated at the front of the train compartment. 'Who else is on your team?' she asked him.

Kageyama rolled his eyes annoyingly just thinking of the tall, arrogant blond middle-blocker. 'Kei Tsukishima. Middle blocker. Not much to say about him except that he's tall and he's a jackass. His friend and our pinch server, Tadashi Yamaguchi, is much more pleasant to talk to. I cannot understand how they've been friends since kindergarten. The only reason I tolerate Tsukishima is that he's smart and he helped me out in English once. I'd rather fail than have him as a tutor again. And then… there's Shoyo Hinata.' he said before his voice trailed off.

Katharine frowned, definitely curious. 'Who's he?' she asked. Again, Kageyama stiffly rolled his eyes.

'He's in the same year as me. Middle blocker and decoy. He's got decent skills in volleyball- _wait_, I take it back, he sucks at defense and can't receive a ball to save his life- and he's just so fucking loud and talkative, he's stubborn and he just can't seem to shut up… or sit, or stay still, or eat properly, or learn anything in class. Basically he's a huge dumbass and he just won't leave me alone.' He heard Katharine laugh softly.

'So he's your best friend, basically.' she called out blankly. Kageyama frowned in displeasure.

'He most certainly _isn't_.' he said, his teeth mashed together in indignation, making Katharine giggle even more. _Sure he isn't, Tobio_, she thought. His sudden rush of dissatisfaction with her assessment made her even more curious about this character that she had yet to meet.

'So what does he do that doesn't get on your nerves? Can he play?'

Kageyama had to think about her question in a legitimate manner for a moment, diving into the very few memories of Hinata that didn't portray the small orange-haired middle blocker as a complete idiot. He didn't have to dig too deep to vividly remember the one of a kind, perfectly executed and timed quick attack that Hinata executed to snag the last point against Shiratorizawa Academy, taking Karasuno High School to new heights as the best high school boys' volleyball team in the Miyagi Prefecture, bringing them closer to their ultimate goal- to compete in the National Spring Tournament. Kageyama silently chuckled as he remembered Hinata's beaming smile after the orange-haired clueless daft realized that he had scored the victory point against the almighty number one ace in the Prefecture and his team of over-athletically inclined goons.

'He's an incredibly intuitive volleyball player. Most of his skill is solely based on pure instinct. He may not be the best technical player- hell, we all know he isn't- but his raw talent and his love for the sport… It's something else.' he replied to her.

Katharine nodded again. 'So he _is _your best friend then. Makes sense. You seem attached to him. So cute.'

She heard Kageyama suppress a growl. '_He's not my best friend and I'm not attached to that __**little dweeb**__!_' he angrily muttered under his breath, but he said it loud enough for the occupants of the train to hear him perfectly well as some of them gave him nasty looks for his sudden uproar. Before Katharine could react, she saw Maria's angry face angrily snapping sideways to give her a nasty look from the front of the coach.

'Stop pissing him off, damn you!' she could read on the Mexican libero's lips, Arissa nudging her arm playfully.

'Yeah, stop pissing her boyfriend off.' comically mimicked Arissa and Elia in whispers, further embarrassing Maria.

'Would you stop that, _both of you!_' Maria angrily cried out to the twins as Kageyama curiously looked her way, eyes narrowing shyly with muted interest from the back of the coach. She quickly ducked behind her seat, her cheeks flushed red, trying desperately to hide from his prying gaze. Her little outburst had echoed throughout the train compartment. Maria heard Zofia sigh heavily, visibly exasperated at the other girls for making a scene in public transport and the growing awareness that they were not getting any sympathy from the other occupants of the train compartment. Zofia felt the burning gaze of the elderly woman sitting behind her through her seat and became quite uneasy at the thought of being publicly scolded by a local angry senior citizen. She glared at Maria and angrily scowled at her, her icy blue eyes meeting Maria's brown ones angrily as exasperated whispers reached her ears.

'You getting trashed by that Japanese Betty White behind sure seemed like a good way to get us kicked off this train, Maria. If you don't want to walk the rest of the way there, I suggest you chill. We're almost there, so _can you act normal until we do?_' said Zofia as he put on her headphones and looked outside. Maria silently and rather embarrassingly took the Polish-American spiker's scolding with a signature pout and crossed her arm, closing her eyes to try to find peace and serenity… only to be daydreaming about a certain steely blue-eyed setter that, unbeknownst to her, gazed at her from the back of the train coach with the subtlest of smiles on the corner of his lips.

As he broke his stare, Tobio Kageyama couldn't help but feel the anticipation building inside of him as the excitement of returning home washed over him. He was ready for the last preparations for the Spring Tournament and hoped that his plan involving the North American Women's Youth volleyball team would bring the boys from Karasuno to new heights… and not be a complete disaster.


	7. When Crows Meet Wolves

Shoyo Hinata cycled downhill at a tremendous pace towards the Karasuno's High School's gym as if his life depended on it, his eyes watering. The chilly mid-winter wind made his skin shiver as he looked at his watch anxiously.

'**Oh no!** Daichi will have my head, I'm _so_ late!'

As Hinata fast approached the busy streets of Sendai from the mountain winding road, he couldn't help but feel excited about seeing his teammates again, about playing with them again. The last week had been hard on Shoyo Hinata, who loved to hit the ball more than anything else about the sport of volleyball. He liked to dig the ball, to receive it- when he actually could receive it without sending it straight at the school's vice-principals head- but mostly, he really, _really_ liked jumping as high as he could and spiking it across the net. And his time at the regional training camp- a camp he_ infiltrated _without being invited to- he did everything **but** hit the ball. And seven days without spiking a volleyball is simply too long for Shoyo Hinata, the rising star of Karasuno High School's volleyball team and the number one orange-haired hyperactive five-foot-four middle blocker.

A week's worth of being a ball boy had taught Shoyo Hinata a few things, namely how to properly prepare his body for a receive, how to push his body to a new jump height limit but mostly, mostly he learned to swallow his pride and wash dirty stinky old jerseys. But as he cleaned the gym while the other boys played, as he hung the clean damp jerseys on the bleachers to dry while they played, as he bit his tongue at others' mockery towards him, he learned. For the first few days, they had mocked him as he picked the balls from the ground for them. But soon, the other boys had started to let him practice with them and give him pointers to better his technique.

Even Kei Tsukishima, his own teammate at Karasuno High School, the same one that takes daily pleasure in tormenting him, gave him a chance to play with them and learn at his own pace after the day's practice. And to Hinata, that was priceless. It gave him hope that one day, he'd also be invited to the Miyagi Rookies training camp as a respected and acknowledged high school pro athlete- and that Tsukki would be nicer to him in the future (or is that wishful thinking?). But for now, he had to accept two simple truths. Firstly, he was famished. Secondly, he was going to get a whoopin' from Daichi for being late to the morning practice.

When Hinata finally got to Karasuno High School, the sun was already high in the sky. He quickly locked his bicycle away and ran as fast as he could towards the volleyball gym with his heavy scarf wrapped tightly around his neck and his heels barely touching the ground. He quickly swung his backpack over his shoulder, rushing towards the back of the main school building, furiously rushing by a few students who gossiped outside, their breaths visible in the cold wind.

'Move! Out of the way! _I'm late!_ **Move!**'

Pushing the high school girls out of his way, Hinata could finally see the gym he loved from the very first time he set his eyes on it. It was ridiculously small and yet, that's where some of the best moments happened for him in the last seven months. He quickly ran to the boys' clubroom, changed shoes, and ran back to the gym's doors, who had already been unlocked. The moment he stepped inside Karasuno High School's volleyball gym, he was immediately called at by Ryunosuke Tanaka, the team's second-year spiker.

'Hey, _it's the criminal!_ Hinata, my man. I can't believe you actually did it!' he exclaimed, his deep raspy voice resonating within the building.

Hinata laughed nervously, urging Tanaka to keep his voice down. But it was too late. Yu Nishinoya came running towards Shoyo Hinata, his brown locks styled even more flamboyantly than usual, his single strand of blond hair spiked high on his head. He jumped on the orange-haired first-year middle blocker and gave him a good smack on the arm.

'Oi, Hinata! You're back!' he said. 'You sure pissed off the coach with that little ninja move you pulled rolling in incognito at Shiratorizawa Academy. You'll have to teach your favorite upperclassman how you snuck into that camp. I need a new tactic to get into the girls' locker room-'

_**Wham**_**.** Tanaka hit Yu Nishinoya's arm, his teeth showing.

'Hey, you _douchebag!_ **I'm** his favorite upperclassman! Isn't that right, Hinata?' Hinata pulled away nervously from Tanaka and Nishinoya, who were ready to duke it out, fists in the air. Tanaka gave Nishinoya his famous snarl and branded his fist in the air, threatening his shorter teammate. Nishinoya raised an eyebrow at him and mockingly cackled at the exuberant wing spiker.

'Watcha gonna do about it Tanaka, uh?' he taunted. 'You wanna dance to see who is Hinata's favorite upperclassmen?' he continued, also branding his fists in the air. 'I'd have more of a challenge brawling with the lunch lady!' screamed Nishinoya, making Hinata even more nervous now that Ryu Tanaka was growling in anger and removed his shirt, exposing his budding muscles.

'**OH!**_ You did not just say that to me!_ Come here, pipsqueak, I'll show you my mean moves!-'

'You both need to stop this before Daichi comes back from the vice principal's office. _**Now!**_'

At the sound of Koushi Sugawara's voice, third-year student and Karasuno's volleyball team vice-captain, Ryunosuke Tanaka and Yu Nishinoya dropped their fists, completely deflated and shuddered, suddenly aware that the usually cheerful grey-haired setter was now standing right before them with a devilish smile, the kind of smile that would make children cry.

'So, you guys want to fight in our gym? _Is that it?_ Want to cause trouble, do you?' he asked menacingly. Panic set in within Tanaka and Nishinoya, who looked at each other, frightened.

'N-no, Suga, that's not it-' said Tanaka apologetically.

'I swear, we're were just joking around, we didn't' actually mean-' tried Nishinoya, but was suddenly interrupted by Koushi Sugawara quickly grabbing Shoyo Hinata by the shoulder's in a very forced and rough brotherly fashion, making Hinata gasp as he closed his eyes, knowing terribly well that despite not wanting any part in his older teammate's squabble about him, he'd be in trouble. _Again_.

'Of course, you two could not possibly mean one word of what you said.' he said, his voice low and threatening. Tanaka and Nishinoya were now visibly trembling at the sight of their vice-captain's ominous smile. 'Because we all know…' said Sugawara in a dangerous whisper in Hinata's ear.

'**I'm** his favorite upperclassmen. _Right_, Hinata?'

Hinata froze, the terrorizing tone in Sugawara's voice chilling him to the bone.

'Y-Yes, Sugawara-senpai!'

And with that, Koushi Sugawara laughed angelically, the darkness in his eyes completely vanished.

'I knew it, yay!~' he said sweetly to Hinata, who looked paler than usual. _Sugawara-senpai is actually really, really scary._

'After all, I was the one who convinced Daichi to spare your life after the little training camp stunt you pulled. He was about to walk there and rip you a new one himself, but _I_ was the one who convinced him to postpone your sentence 'til after the Spring Tournament. Am I not the best senpai ever?'

Hinata's throat tightened up at the thought of Daichi, his team's captain, being angry with him. Immediately, he felt his muscles tense as he heard the gym doors open, letting a rush of cold winter air flowing in the building. And it was Karasuno's very own Daichi Sawamura who had opened them, his face decorated with a stern expression. He spotted Shoyo Hinata, who squealed in fear, his breathing had stopped.

'_Shoyo Hinata_. There you are. Just the guy I was looking for.' he called out to the orange-haired middle blocker. Hinata gulped loudly, only expecting the worst now, prepared to feel the wrath of the tall, imposing volleyball team captain. _Oh, crap. He's really mad_. He felt his knees weakening under the weight of his impending scolding as Daichi walked towards him, his lips pursed in silent anger. Hinata had only time to blink before Daichi stood before him, his arms crossed against his chest. He inhaled deeply, only making Hinata more anxious.

'I've just spent an _entire hour_ sitting in the vice principal's office, inches away from his ugly face, being screamed at because you won't stop causing trouble everywhere you go.' he started, visibly upset. Hinata swallowed dryly. _Maybe if I say something now, he'll calm down_, he thought. His auburn eyes met Daichi's and he then saw the growing rage in his dark brown orbs. His heart skipped a beat.

'I'm sorry Daichi, I-'

'**Don't speak.** I'm not done.' warned Daichi. Tanaka, Nishinoya and Sugawara, witnesses to this horror scene clenched their teeth, suddenly genuinely concerned for Hinata's wellbeing as the team's captain's eyes narrowed in anger. Hinata 's eyes closed as Daichi lowered his voice menacingly, his tone now venomous as he pointed at his own face.

'I still have his _spit_ on my face. Yes, Hinata. That's how_ close _to me he was when he so nicely commanded me to keep a very close tab on you for the rest of the semester (Hinata heard Tanaka's suppressed laughter in the background before Sugawara struck him in the ribs, silencing him). I'm humiliated, Hinata. Very,_ very_ humiliated. I had to _beg_ for you not to be kicked off the team and for the school to let you play in the Spring Tournament. What do you have to say, uh?' he asked.

Hinata quickly bent down, begging for forgiveness as his trembling voice echoed throughout the gym.

'Please, Daichi-san! I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused! I know I made the team and the school look bad and I promise I'll do anything to make amends. But _please_, don't rip me a new one! That sounds super painful and I won't be able to play!' he said in one breath. Daichi inhaled deeply again, looking down at the first-year middle blocker, the innocence and terror in his voice making him almost unable to be mad at Hinata anymore. Almost.

'I accept your apology. But if you mess up once, if you even so much as breathe out of line, I'll ask Kageyama to never pass a ball to you ever again. Are we clear?'

Daichi's threat was not taken lightly. Hinata's mouth twisted into a desperate pout.

'Yes, sir! I promise!'

Satisfied, Daichi looked around to see Kei Tsukishima and Tadashi Yamaguchi also stepping into the volleyball gymnasium, their cheeks pink from the cold crisp winter wind that blew quietly outside.

'Hey, you two. Thanks for making it _in time_. It's always nice to see my players arrive early.' he said sarcastically. 'And you had no excuse to be late. _Your_ training camp wasn't in Tokyo, Tsukishima.'

Kei Tsukishima rolled his eyes and smirked.

'I'm sorry, captain. You're right. After all, I'm not His Majesty, I didn't have a reason to be late. My sincerest apologies.'

Daichi couldn't help but be a little exasperated every time Tsukishima, the tallest first-year middle blocker of his team, sent a mocking jab at Tobio Kageyama and his prior nickname in middle school, the King of the Court. He was about to reply to the smug-faced blonde (because why not, he was already in a piss poor mood), but then he noticed that indeed, something, or rather_ someone _was missing for the morning practice. Daichi raised an eyebrow, curious as to where his main setter was. He rubbed the back of his head and cleared his throat, looking around the gym for the steely blue-eyed first-year setter, but he was nowhere to be seen.

'Speaking of which, where is our other volleyball mega idiot? Anyone' seen Kageyama yet?' he asked as the rest of the boys started warming up and stretching. Daichi looked at Sugawara, who was now joined by Azumane Asahi, who had rushed to the gym late again.

'I think Coach Ukai mentioned yesterday that his train was coming in a little later today. Takeda-san left to go pick him up at the station.' replied Asahi. 'I saw him heading towards the minibus earlier, in the parking lot.'

Daichi's curiosity was piqued again. It was out of the ordinary for Takeda-san to not be at the morning practice and it was even weirder for Coach Ukai to be late knowing that Karasuno's volleyball team was on a tight training schedule to get ready for the Spring Tournament.

He sighed and reached for his cellphone in his vest's pocket.

'You guys warm up. I'll call Tobio to make sure he made it to the train station.' he replied to his teammates, heading at the other side of the gymnasium to dial Kageyama's number, not wanting to disturb the other boys who were now mocking Hinata. As he dialed the setter prodigy's number, he felt that something wasn't right. And usually, he could trust his gut feeling. He then heard Tobio Kageyama's voice as the first-year setter answered his call.

'_Hello?'_

'Hey, Kageyama. It's me, Daichi. I was just wondering if you arrived at the station on time. We were just about to start the practice. Think you'll be here soon?' asked Daichi.

'_Yeah, I just got here. Takeda-san is pulling over, he's helping me load the bus.'_

'Load the bus? Did you go on a shopping spree, princess?' asked Daichi, chuckling. There was a heavy silence at the other end of the line, but soon he heard Kageyama's voice again.

'_Uh, yeah. Actually, I did. I just have a lot of um- __**luggage**__ with me. It's been kind of a bother to drag it around everywhere, I figured I'd call Takeda-san for a ride. I'll be there soon.'_

Daichi shrugged. 'Alright. We'll be waiting for you. Don't take too long, Hinata is already freaking out because he thinks you won't be tossing for him today. I can hear him right now bugging Suga to do quicks already.' He heard Kageyama snort at the other end of the line.

'_Tell him to suck it. See you later.'_

As Kageyama hung up, Daichi's suspicions grew louder. Something was off today. And he couldn't shake off the feeling that somehow, he knew he was going to be right about his gut feeling. When Daichi walked back to the rest of the boys from Karasuno High School volleyball team, they had already started stretching. Daichi soon joined them but stopped in his tracks when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He quickly took it out and saw a text message notification on his home screen. Curious, he opened the app and an unread text message from Keishin Ukai was waiting for him to read.

**Coach Ukai**

_Don't wait for me, I have a few things to take care of at home._

_I'll be there in a few._

Daichi Sawamura sighed again, getting more annoyed by the minute. First, half his players had been late to the morning practice. Then, his teacher and club advisor, Ittetsu Takeda, was also late to their practice, something that rarely ever happened. And then, to top it all, their coach Keishin Ukai, made them wait for morning practice, which was not only out of the ordinary, but annoying as all hell considering the boys from Karasuno High School's volleyball team needed all the coaching they could get before the Spring Tournament. _Only three months left until the Tournament and everyone is slacking off… Ugh, this is not good_, thought the tall third-year captain, who seemed deep in thoughts.

'Hey Daichi, are you alright?' he heard a voice call out to him. He raised his head to meet Koushi Sugawara's grey eyes, this one visibly worried about him.

'Yeah, I just have a feeling that something is not right this morning...' he said to him. As the younger boys started their usual morning drills, Sugawara and Asahi walked towards him, a faint sheen of sweat on their brow. He knew that the first and second-years would not notice his worried expression, but his two best friends, Sugawara and Asahi, always knew when something was wrong with him. He could never hide his feelings with them. Kouchi Sugawara was too in-tuned and observant and Asahi always knew how to calm him down.

'You don't seem too hot this morning, old guy.' said Asahi, his deep voice restrained to an almost whisper.

'I don't know… I may be overreacting a little, but don't you think that maybe, just maybe… we're losing our edge here? Ever since our victory against Shiratorizawa, I just can't help but feel like we've grown a little too confident. Even our coaches aren't showing up to morning practices…' he said, Sugawara quickly catching on to Daichi's drift. He placed a warm friendly hand on Daichi's shoulder and smiled.

'I know what's wrong with you now.' he said. '_You're feeling the pressure_, Daichi. I know you. You feel like it's your responsibility to bring us to victory in the Tournament and honestly Daichi, after all the years we've known one another and played together… don't you think it's time for you to relax and enjoy the game just a little?' he said, his eyes meeting with Daichi's brown ones. Daichi raised an eyebrow, suddenly embarrassed that Sugawara could read him so easily. He cleared his throat and giggled.

'I guess you're right. You really are like your mom, Suga.' he replied, grinning. Asahi also smiled at his comment, Sugawara smirking.

'You're just jealous because my mom's an awesome psychologist and she taught me everything she knows. No, but seriously, Daichi. Look at me.' he said, gesturing Daichi to look at him again. 'When was the last time you actually enjoyed playing? Ever since you became captain, you've been putting all this strain on yourself to make us the best team in the Miyagi prefecture… and now that we are, you're stressing out about making us the best team _in all of Japan_. When are you going to act like you actually like volleyball?' Suga asked.

That question took Daichi by surprise. His best friend had, once again, read him like an open book. When was the last time he didn't have to worry about anything else but the game? He sighed heavily and shrugged.

'When are you going to stop asking such embarrassing questions, Suga?' he asked.

'When you stop being a little bitch about this whole thing and come practice with us like you mean it.' replied Suga, winking at him. Asahi gasped at Daichi's slightly shocked expression.

'Suga! _You can't just say that!_ That's mean!' he cried out. Suga waved a peace sign at Asahi, a small giggle escaping his lips.

'Don't get your man bun in a twist, Asahi. All I'm saying is that, for once, Daichi should loosen up and let the coach handle the boys. I mean, they're not so bad, are they?' he asked. Daichi cleared his throat again, pointing at the center court at the tall blond middle blocker, who obviously was antagonizing the shorter Hinata as he held the volleyball high and tantalizingly at Hinata, knowing that the shorter middle blocker would not be able to get it from him. At his side, a snickering Yamaguchi aggravated the situation.

'Let me have the ball, Tsukishima! It's my turn to toss! Come on!' he screamed at the lanky middle blocker. Kei Tsukishima grinned at him arrogantly, pushing his glasses back on his face and he placed his other hand on his hips almost too provocatively. As he held the ball away from the orange-haired middle blocker, he couldn't help but softly mock their team's decoy.

'If you want it so bad, why don't you come and get it?' he said, his taunt taken literally by Shoyo Hinata, who without warning jumped on him, climbing his lanky body like a monkey climbing a tree, his legs and arms clumsily wrapping around Kei Tsukishima, who _hated - _emphasis on the word hate- being touched. Tsukishima's horror-filled scream echoed throughout the gym, his exasperation tangible in his squeals of panic.

'_Get off me! __**GET OFF ME you orange-haired buffoon!' **_he voiced out as Tanaka and Nishinoya stopped what they were doing, too busy laughing at the tall middle blocker's predicament which he stupidly brought upon himself. Their mocking laughter only made the situation worse.

'Oh, Nishinoya, look! A live-action reenactment of the Jungle Book!' Tanaka cackled, tears rolling down his cheeks as he witnessed Tsukki get swarmed by Hinata's weight on him, his crotch now dangerously near the blonde middle blocker's face.

'Wow! Think I should film it, Tanaka?' asked the shorter libero, a wicked smile growing on his face. 'The babes are going to flip over this on Vine.' he mumbled with his tongue poking out of his mouth mischievously, running to his bag to grab his phone, Tanaka's laughter now almost as loud as the sound of Yamaguchi's anxious squealed as he tried to pull Hinata off of Kei Tsukishima.

'Get off, Hinata! You're going to _break_ him! And we need him!' he screamed at Shoyo Hinata, who ignored the freckled-faced pinch server, his hand now reaching at Tsukishima's face as he would a rock climbing wall, his fingers grabbing at his forehead, pulling on the blonde's hair. Hinata's small hand reached sky high, his fingers grazing the volleyball.

'Give me the ball, you big jerk!' he let out, followed by Tsukishima's muffled growl.

'Your _dirty ass shoes_ are on my face, you simpleton! _**Get off me!'**_ The blonde middle blocker struggled to push off the orange-haired decoy as Yamaguchi grabbed onto Hinata's shirt, trying to pull him off of the other first-year whose murderous eyes now darted at him. 'Tadashi, _don't just look! Do something!_' Hinata took this as an opportunity to climb over the pinch server's face, using it as a new step to raise his reach. Tadashi Yamaguchi's face was now squashed under Hinata's red and white court shoe.

'Give me a boost, Yamaguchi, I'm almost there!' All he could hear was the muffled sound of protest that could escape Yamaguchi's mouth before the tall pinch server fell on the ground under Hinata's weight, the loud thump of the impact resonating within the gym walls.

On the other side of the court, Daichi sighed again, totally exasperated as Sugawara whined next to him, defeated.

'I see your point, now.' he said to Daichi. Asahi could only close his eyes as he felt the surge of anger coming from his best friend's aura. 'Oh no, here we go…'

'_Right_. I rest my case. Thank you Suga. Now if you'll excuse me...' he said as he rolled his Karasuno High School's vest's sleeves and cracked his knuckles, heading towards the two first-years with a flame of fervent anger in his eyes.

His loud walk alerted the small orange-haired middle blocker, who quickly turned around, his eyes now full of fear as he noticed the bedeviled expression on his captain's face, his usually warm eyes now dark with rage. But he stopped in his tracks as he saw Tsukishima's legs slowly tremble under Hinata's weight that kept pulling him backward. The brown-haired captain then grinned sinisterly, knowing what the near future would bring the two delinquent boys as he noticed Tsukishima stumbling backward dangerously. _I should feel guilty for knowing what's about to happen and not stop it, but… Ah, what the hell, it'll be fun. I deserve a little something for myself today, this ought to do._

'Cap-captain Daichi, wait, this is not what you think-' he mumbled as he pressed harder on Tsukishima's shoulder, but did not expect Tsukishima's body to suddenly lose its balance and rocked backward. **'Shit!'** Kei Tsukishima swore loudly, his eyes widening as he saw his peripheral vision now aiming at the ceiling, the floor calling him by his name.

'Oh no! We're going down!' screamed Hinata at the top of his lungs. He grabbed onto Tsukki for dear life as the blond teenager inhaled quickly and he felt his whole world crash, his back harshly finding the gym floor. Hinata loudly tumbled on him, his head hitting his and sending Tsukki's glasses flying. All the boys stopped talking, all of them stopped moving.

There was a heavy silence around them as the volleyball Hinata sought after fell to the ground and rolled away from the straddling teenagers that lay painfully on the floor towards the gym doors, who opened swiftly. The round ball rolled by Kageyama's feet and the tall setter kicked it back into the gym with a puzzled and rather concerned look on his face as he saw Hinata questionably straddling Tsukishima (he hoped it wasn't was he was thinking- this must be an illusion- it felt more like acid poured in his eyes), his eyebrow cocked in confusion.

'What the fuck is going on here?_'_ he said, blinking rapidly.

Tanaka grinned widely at the sight of their blue-eyed setter, waving at him.

'Hey, it's Kageyama and- _**HOLY SHIT GUYS!**_' The mid-winter bright sun blinded the boys of the Karasuno High School volleyball team as they witnessed the appearance of womanly figures that gathered around their tall blue-eyed setter, their curves and silky hair illuminated by the brilliant sun. Nishinoya's heart thumped loudly in his chest at the sight of this divine apparition, his eyes now wide and full of life.

'Do you see what I see, Tanaka? Is this what heaven looks like?' he asked, basking in the midday sunlight. Ryunosuke Tanaka nodded swiftly, unable to stop looking at the approaching feminine figures.

Daichi Sawamura's gut was right, he knew it. He knew there was something going on this morning, on that fateful morning where everything went to shit for him and his team. The tall captain saw the foreign young women enter Karasuno High School's volleyball gym and he felt his mouth dry up a little. As they dropped their bags on the gym floor, Daichi couldn't help but blink, Sugawara and Asahi joining him in his one-sided staring contest.

'Daichi, what's going on?' asked Asahi, his brown eyes riveted on the strangers that entered their gym.

Daichi shrugged. 'I have no clue.' he replied

'Whatever this is, I am not opposed to it. I mean, would you look at them…' Sugawara's voice trailed off as he inspected the foreign girls dressed in a black and white volleyball team tracksuit, their team's insignia proudly woven at the front of their vest. Karasuno's entire team stayed silent and dazzled (some even _drooling_\- Nishinoya and Tanaka wiped their mouths in utter silence, at a loss for words) as the girls from the North American Women's Youth volleyball team all stepped inside the gym, one by one, pink-cheeked and slightly shivering from the cold wind outside.

Daichi Sawamura was a rational young man, surprised only by the most unusual things in life. **This** was unusual. As he looked at the six girls that stood next to Tobio Kageyama, he felt his lip curl upward into a dazed smile. He must've looked exceptionally stupid, he thought, like the rest of his team for ogling them in such a way. After all, all of them except two were otherworldly tall, taller than even some of his tallest teammates, his ace Azumane Asahi and Kei Tsukishima included. But the boys couldn't help it - most of them had never seen foreign volleyball players in real life before. He even felt Koichi Sugawara blush next to him, confirming that indeed, his own reaction was warranted and that he couldn't deny the one simple fact that these girls were pretty. Different, out of the norm, atypically _pretty_. And they were looking straight at them with their colorful eyes.

'Whoa.' he heard the shy, long-haired ace mumble. 'Who are they?'

Even Kei Tsukishima, who had been moments away from running his fist into Shoyo Hinata's face, laid immobile on the ground, Shoyo Hinata still lying over him clumsily and more stunned than he was. He quickly grabbed his glasses and when he placed the bridge over his nose, the first thing he saw was the color green. Jade green, he thought. It was the color of spring, his favorite color. But most importantly, it was the color of the eyes of the curly-haired girl that looked directly into his own, her hands nervously kneading what looked like a volleyball plush. He swallowed dryly as a rosy blush had drawn itself on her pale face. His own cheeks slowly heated at the sight. She blinked at him, her colorful eyes looking directly into his, wondering why he was lying on the floor. Quickly and with much embarrassment, he pushed himself away from the orange-haired dweeb, the latter whimpering in pain as he did so.

'Ouch, Tsukishima. That hurt.'

'Shut up, Shrimp.'

Even the articulated Tadashi Yamaguchi was at a complete loss for words, his freckled face stricken with surprise.

As the girls dropped their bags on the gym floor on the side court, Daichi's eyes zoomed in on the woven patches that decorated their sports vest and on their arms that depicted their team's logo, a volleyball, and the three North American countries' flags. This was not a simple sports club attire, he thought. This was an official club's uniform. And then it clicked. _They must be the girls from Kageyama's camp, the ones he talked about! He brought them here! _Daichi inhaled sharply and smiled.

'Well, it looks like you weren't lying, Kageyama. You did have_ extra luggage_ with you.' he said to his younger teammates.

'Yeah…'

Kageyama looked around the gym and noticed just how utterly brainless his teammates looked, wide-eyed and mouths wide open. Even the bright-faced orange-haired teenager was rendered speechless (is that even possible?), his auburn eyes sparkling with admiration as he took notice of the tallest players on the girls' team, Arissa and Elia Nagwame, who cheekily winked at him.

'Oh my gosh, _he's adorable_.' Elia whispered to Arissa. Her twin sister almost squealed at the sight of Shoyo Hinata.

'I know!' she squealed back at her.

At the sound of their gossip, Kageyama shook his head- and most probably rolled his eyes in disgust, too- and sighed.

'Guys.' he called out to them blankly, embarrassed. 'These are the girls from the North American Women's Youth volleyball team I talked to you about. And they'll be training with us for the next week. So can you stop looking like _fucking morons_ and say hi already?' he called out to them, annoyed at their dumbfounded reactions.

Maria looked at Katharine and giggled. 'This is weird. Why aren't they talking?' she whispered to her team's captain. Katharine nodded.

'I agree. Maybe if I break the ice it'll be better.' she replied in a whisper. Before she knew, Katharine had stepped forward and smiled at the boys that stood (and lied down on the ground- _seriously, what happened?_) before her and decided that indeed, she would have to be the one to break the ice to diffuse the atmosphere. She then shyly waved at the Karasuno boys, her grey eyes looking straight at them.

'Hi. My name is-' she was abruptly interrupted by the shortest of the boys - their libero- as he ran towards her without warning and grabbed her hands swiftly in his, his light brown eyes twinkling with adoration. She gasped as he smiled at her, his gaze dreamily meeting hers.

'Please marry me oh, beautiful stranger.'

Katharine blinked. Daichi blinked. Kageyama blinked. Hell, if the walls could blink in shock, they would too. If there were crickets in the gym, she was sure she would have heard them by now. Only the sound of mocking giggles from the girls could be heard.

Oh.

_Oh_.

_**Oh.**_

_**Oh, hell no.**_


	8. The She-Wolf's Bet

Tobio Kageyama had been stuck in between being livid and utterly embarrassed.

He saw exactly what was coming for Katharine, captain of the North American Women's Youth volleyball team. When he saw Nishinoya run towards her, he thought that maybe he wanted the first one to say hello, maybe the first one to ask for a personal training session with the Canadian wing spiker. When he had grabbed her hands, his mind wandered as to why exactly Nishinoya did such a thing. _Maybe he thought she was cold or something, ridiculous considering where she's from, _he thought, hoping Karasuno's libero would not push the limits of what was acceptable right out of the gate. Yu Nishinoya had always been known to be a little pushy and overexcited about certain things, _very specific things_ such as cute girls, but surely he wouldn't push his luck this far, right?

'Oh, my man is busting out the moves already! He's a pro!' squealed Ryunosuke Tanaka in the background, Kageyama raising an eyebrow at him.

'He's _dead_.' he grimly replied to the second-year spiker.

And then, it happened. Kageyama stood on the sidelines as a speechless spectator as Yu Nishinoya, libero and Guardian Deity of Karasuno High, did the unthinkable. He saw from the corner of his eye the mortified expression on Daichi Sawamura's face as he moved his face towards Katharine's, her grey eyes narrowing in what seemed to be growing anger.

And for the shortest millisecond of this very unfortunate moment for Nishinoya, his lips almost met hers.

He then heard Maria Hernandez gasp, also obviously aware of what would happen then.

Zofia sighed. 'Oh my, this is gonna be interesting.' she said ominously.

'Oh _no_. This is not good-' She was about to walk over, but her teammate Zofia gently held her back, her arm softly resting on her shoulder and she shook her head.

'Let her break him. Training starts now, bitches.' she snickered, her icy blue eyes glimmering with a dark curiosity.

It all happened so suddenly. Yu Nishinoya knew that such an encounter with a young woman like her- he didn't even know her name but he knew he had to take a chance- would only present itself only once in a lifetime and hell, he'd make sure to make the most out of it. _Kami-sama, let this work. I read in a stupid girl's magazine the other day that chicks like bold men and I shall be the __**boldest**_ _out of all of them if it means I get to kiss a pretty girl_, he thought. _I am the Guardian Deity of Karasuno, I will prevail. _He was already fairly popular with the ladies at Karasuno- or so he thought (Tsukishima enjoyed reminding him that in fact, he was not), being an athlete and overall good looking fellow and for some reason, on that day, his body moved on its own accord as he rather too quickly aimed his lips towards hers.

As Nishinoya closed his eyes dreamily, his thoughts raged inside his mind. _Please let this work, Kami-sama. Please let her fall in love with me so we can have cute ice cream dates where she'll say cute things like 'Nishinoya-kun, you have such a manly aura, may I please kiss you again?' and being the attentive and generous boyfriend that I am, I'll-_

**It did not go as planned.**

Needless to say that the next thing he knew was that she had launched a monstrous right hook right across his face, sending him flying backward clumsily. He had seen her angrily squinted eyes burning with the kind of rage that made him slightly nervous, a tiny wicked smile drawn on her face. Her grey eyes met his soft brown's again, but this time, it wasn't in a clouded haze of Nishinoya's one-sided infatuation. He had awoken the demon, the demon that Kageyama had mentioned to them about. _Behind that smile hides a demon, I'm telling you_, he had texted them. He didn't believe his team's setter then... he did now. He'd awoken something that should have stayed well hidden and asleep, he thought. _Who are these girls? _When she knelt before him extending her hand, he flinched in fear.

'Oh _no_. You fell down.' Her voice chilled Nishinoya's blood. 'Let me help you up.' she said blankly, the Cheshire cat grin that made her lip curl upward making Nishinoya swallow anxiously. _She's not cute. She's not cute __**at all**__. I think I fucked up._ As she held him up, Nishinoya couldn't help but notice the worried expression on her libero teammate. _Uh oh, what do I do now? _Her hand crushed his own with the strength of a navy sailor as she pulled him up. He squealed, looking at Koushi Sugawara, his pleading expression making the Karasuno High's team vice-captain smirk.

'Oh, I am _not _getting involved.' he snickered quietly, Daichi Sawamura panicked at his side.

'I'll call Coach Ukai. He better make it here quick before things get out of hand.' he said, running towards the exit, cell phone in hand.

When Nishinoya felt the ground below his feet again, Katharine had put a hand on his shoulder, her eyes staring directly into his. Sweat covered his palms. He was going to get it now. He knew how this would end up. Of all the girls he could have tried this on, his stupid ass had to choose the worst possible girl, the scariest one of them all, the one that would make grown men cry at the sight of her bedeviled expression. _I'm such a moron. Better apologize now while I'm still alive._

'Listen, miss, I'm sorry-'

'**Damn right** **you are.'** she replied to him, her grey eyes already haunting him. 'And I know just **how** you'll make it up to me.' she said, her voice sending shivers down his spine. Nishinoya looked at Tanaka, who had seemingly tapped his palms together in prayer for him.

'_Hold on, buddy!'_ he said.

Nervously, he looked back at her again with a nervous lump in his throat.

'H-How?' he stammered.

Her smile grew wider still, fear growing in Nishinoya's eyes. The sweetness in her voice fooled no one, she was serious.

'Oh, just you wait. You'll know soon enough, darling.'

* * *

Wakatoshi Ushijima breathed deeply and exhaled sharply, his breath visible in the cold air.

The air was cold and damp, but he liked running when it snowed a little. He likes the feeling of his cold sweat sticking to his skin. He liked the burn he felt in his legs when he sprinted in intervals. He felt complete when he ran the distance in record time, taken over by the rush of adrenaline when he realized just how much further he could push his body and its limits. He felt the desire to run longer sometimes, just to satisfy his curiosity. When he ran, he felt like no one could beat him. When he ran and pushed his endurance further beyond, he felt like he could forget the humiliating, devastating defeat that his team suffered at the hands of Karasuno High in their match during the regionals. That last point had made him question his skill, his drive to become the best, and most of all, his sense of worth.

Because for Wakatoshi Ushijima, nothing is more important than feeling like he's worth something.

And during that match against Karasuno, against these green, untrained and disorganized boys, he felt like he lost control over his own body and over the game. He grunted, irritated at his own reaction to this rather painful memory. For the first time in years, Shiratorizawa Academy was not going to participate in the Spring Tournament, otherwise known as the tournament that showcased the best high school volleyball teams in all of Japan. He would not be able to test the limits of his abilities and fight for his team's honor before thousands. All of this happened and he was unable to stop the Shoyo Hinata's quick spike attack. Because of him and his lack of skill and his faltering determination. He was the captain of his team, he was their foundation and their strength. And because of him, they shed tears of disappointment.

It was all because of him. At that very moment, he became the one thing he hated the most.

_An over-confident, conceited fool._

The anger he felt bottled up inside urged him to run faster, his legs pushing him forward at a faster pace than he was used to, using this sudden burst of aggravation to fuel his ever-growing need to go faster, to be stronger and to run further. He couldn't even see the faces of the bystanders he passed by on his unbridled morning run, their expressions unimportant to him. All he wanted for himself was retribution for the humiliation he brought upon himself and his team on that day. He wasn't angry at the Karasuno High team, nor his teammates, nor his coaches. He was angry at _himself_. And he wasn't used to feeling this kind of emotion.

He wanted the anger to disappear, but it wasn't going away, no matter how hard or fast he ran, no matter how well he performed in practice matches, no matter how good his grades were, no matter how hard he was on himself. It was eating at him slowly and he desperately needed something he would never admit out loud- a distraction. Something that would take his mind off the guilt that plagued him.

Wakatoshi Ushijima soon realized that he had run halfway across Sendai into the outskirts of town. He finally stopped on a corner of a rather empty suburban street, finally able to catch his breath. He felt a cold shiver run on his skin and pushed his hair back, his hand slicked with sweat. He looked around and sighed again. _Where am I and how far did I run? I don't recognize this part of town… so rural, _he thought. He then noticed a nearby Konbini shop and decided that he was thirsty enough to step in it to buy something. As he pushed the door open, he headed straight to the sports drink section of the store and quickly grabbed a bottle, heading towards the cash to pay.

When he marched to the counter, he could hear the store's blond-haired Konbini clerk yelling loudly at his phone, his voice now resonating throughout the small grocery store.

'What do you mean, she _decked_ him? Is he hurt? What did he do?' he asked the person at the other end of the line, gasping. '_**HE DID WHAT?!**_ That idiot! You can't just spring that question on a stranger _and then try to smooch 'em!_ Why can't you guys just get out of trouble by yourselves, like, _ever_? I told you I was caught up and that I would be there soon! Just go fetch Takeda-san, he'll know what to do about a busted lip. _I need my libero, Daichi!_' he yelled as Wakatoshi Ushijima looked at him rather incredulously.

The man that stood behind the cash register hadn't taken notice of his sole customer of the day yet and Wakatoshi stood there in silence, debating whether or not interrupting his phone call would be advisable or not.

'That's right... I'll be there shortly. Please, just please hold on until I get there. And… don't let them look any dumber in front of them. Talk to you later.' he said, hanging up the phone with a loud sigh. 'Fucking kids. Can't give me a break.' He mumbled angrily.

Wakatoshi Ushijima cleared his throat uncomfortably.

'Can I pay for this?'

Keishin Ukai swiftly turned around, now aware that he might have probably traumatized a customer and laughed apologetically. 'Oh, I'm so sorry about this, let me- well, if it isn't Wakatoshi Ushijima!' he exclaimed. Wakatoshi took a second to recognize the man standing before him but did so very quickly. Blond hair, a delinquent look to him… He remembered his face from the last match he played in the regionals. He was definitive. He knew this man.

'You're Keishin Ukai, Karasuno's coach.' he stated bluntly.

Keishin Ukai smiled awkwardly at the reserved young man standing before him.

'Yeah, that's me! I'm surprised to see you around here. Shiratorizawa Academy is at the other end of town, isn't it?' he said. Wakatoshi Ushijima said nothing. An awkward silence grew between the two young men, Keishin Ukai rubbing the back of his head. 'Listen, I just wanted to tell you, kid… I think you did amazing in our last match. Really. Your technique is impeccable, the best I've seen in a long time.'

Wakatoshi Ushijima gave him a rather stoic look, his brown hair sticking to his brow from excessive sweating. He hated pity-filled compliments.

'We lost.' he said bluntly, handing over money to Keishin, who swallowed his growing embarrassment. _Well, so much for small talk_, he thought. _He might be gifted at volleyball, but social skills…. Not so much._

'Sorry about the phone call. You must've thought I was angry!' Keishin said as he scanned the sports drink.

Wakatoshi shrugged. 'No, just unprofessional.' he replied as blankly, his frank words now harsh. Keishin Ukai ground his teeth loudly, his blood pressure rising. _Kids these days are going to drive me insane!_

'You know what?' he said, handing over the sports drink to Wakatoshi, who raised a curious eyebrow. 'That Pocari Sweat's on me. Consider this an apology for the phone call.' he said. Wakatoshi thanked him quietly as Keishin smiled apologetically to him. 'Again, sorry about that. We're hosting the North American girl's team that will be playing in the next youth World Tournament back at Karasuno this week and the boys are a little _too_ excited.'

Wakatoshi Ushijima's previously loud thoughts came to an abrupt stop. The North American Women's Youth volleyball team? The newly formed under-nineteen girls' team that would compete at the same international youth tournament he was going to play in himself as a representative for Japan in the Asian lineup at the end of the year? How could this be? And most importantly, why were they here? Wakatoshi Ushijima looked at Keishin Ukai with a puzzled frown on his brow.

'What are they doing here?' he asked, genuinely curious as to why, of all places, these girls would come to Japan in the first place. Keishin sighed as he lit up a cigarette.

'Well, apparently, they were supposed to train with the national girl's youth team but played in the All-Japan Boys' training camp instead. Next thing I know, Tobio Kageyama, our setter who was also picked to participate in that camp somehow made friends with them- really, _I don't know how he even pulled that one_\- and invited them here to help out with our training for the Spring Tournament. Talk about a story, uh?' he said, knowing very well that he had now caught the Shiratorizawa Academy ace's attention, his dark olive eyes giving him an intense gaze.

Ushijima Wakatoshi grunted, irritated. Hearing about Karasuno High's team's streak of luck and how much they were going to improve even more irked him, worsening his already foul mood. His fists clenched and he bit his lip in anger. Not only had this team of gibbering fools, deemed the worst volleyball team in the prefecture for years, had _humiliated_ him and his team but now they were training and practicing with some of the best under-nineteen players in the world? The earlier curiosity in Ushijima's dark olive eyes had turned into resentment. That piece of news had aggravated his temper and it only added insult to injury- his pride was hurt, and he hated that people like _them _had such an effect on him. Keishin Ukai raised an eyebrow, having noticed Wakatoshi's expression change drastically. Before he could open his mouth to ask what was wrong with the Shiratorizawa ace, he heard the entrance door of the Konbini store open, his mother finally making an appearance.

'I'm sorry it took so long at the doctor's office this morning, Keishin. You can go, now, I'll take care of the store until you come back.' she had said to him, heading straight to the back of the store. Keishi sighed in relief.

'Finally! I'll be able to knock some sense into those boys myself… Say, Wakatoshi, do you want to come with me to Karasuno? I could give you a lift back at the bus station. You'll catch a cold if you run all the way back to the Academy like this. I would never hear the end of it, you know how Coach Washijo can be and _no one_ wants to deal with _that_.' he said, pointing at the droplets of sweat that stuck to Wakatoshi Ushijima's forehead.

But Ushijima stayed quiet. No answer from the best ace in all of the Miyagi prefecture. Keishin Ukai knew the darkening look in Wakatoshi's eyes. He knew the pain of losing face against complete strangers that would be considered weaker by all, himself included. He knew of the danger of losing an important match. And most importantly, he knew that wounds of pride always took longer to heal. Wakatoshi had remained still and silent before him, his deep olive eyes fixated angrily on the ground, for fear of revealing his self-loath to the Karasuno High's volleyball coach, embarrassed of his own behavior. Keishin Ukai stepped away from behind the cashier station and put a warm hand on the shoulder of the Shiratorizawa Academy's volleyball team's captain, snapping Wakatoshi out of his thoughts.

'Come on. It won't be so bad, I promise. And I hear that these girls are really good. I think it's worth a little visit to our little peasant gym, eh?' he asked, meeting Wakatoshi's eyes. As Keishin Ukai stepped outside the store towards the parking lot, Wakatoshi closed his eyes, disappointed in himself for even harboring such negative thoughts, squeezing the sports drink's bottle angrily. _Why is this affecting me so? Why can't I be content with myself? Why am I so angry?_ He asked himself. _Why do I feel like I'll never be good enough?_

He heard Keishin Ukai honk at him from outside, urging him on.

'_Come on, kid! _I'm late as it is and I don't have all day!'

For a second, Wakatoshi had considered refusing, too prideful to accept such a ridiculous and unbecoming proposal. But then he realized just how he hated not being in control of his emotions and not being able to rely on his rationale to solve his problems. And _that_ was more annoying than any defeat. An almost inaudible grumble escaped his lips as he unsealed the Pocari Sweat bottle, slowly heading outside to meet Keishin Ukai.

Wakatoshi Ushijima had the rest of his life to sulk over his loss to Karasuno and to blame himself for the most important loss of his budding athletic career. But he could resume that trail of depressing thoughts later today. As of right now, he was headed to see the prefectural volleyball champions train with girls.

And he couldn't say he was especially excited about it.

* * *

Katharine turned around and gave a sharp look to her libero teammate Maria, who gulped nervously as she knew what that mischievous smile entailed. She approached the Canadian spiker with utmost precaution and giggled nervously. 'What's up, captain?' she asked.

Katharine's voice echoed in the gymnasium for everyone to hear. 'Maria, would you be so kind as to escort our friend Yu to the other side of the net, at the back please?' she asked. Maria deadpanned, her eyes widening with a sudden rush of fear, a sentiment she shared with Nishinoya as she gave him an apologetic look.

'What for?' she tried sweetly, trying to diffuse the tension between her and Karasuno's libero.

'Oh, I just want to test something out and Yu-kun so kindly _volunteered_ to help out.' she said with a sinister tone to her voice, a tone that Maria knew all too well. _Oh shit, _she thought. _Oh, I know this voice. And these words. He's gonna taste it._

Maria's curly brown hair bounced on her shoulders as she quickly walked towards Yu Nishinoya, who now wore a panicked expression on his face and he was obviously sweating. 'Come on, now. Come with me.'

She gently grabbed Nishinoya by his arm and pulled him towards the opposite side of the inside court, Yu whimpering to her nervously. 'What is she going to do to me? What is going on?' he asked. Maria sighed and her brown eyes met his.

'You just bought yourself a one-way ticket to trouble land, mister. You've awoken the beast.' she said.

Yu stammered nervously. 'The-the _be-beast?_' he asked.

As Maria gently placed Yu on the back end of the opposite court, she sighed and tapped on his shoulder sympathetically. 'Good luck, man. You'll need it. Here's advice from a libero to another: for fuck's sake, don't try to run away. She used to run tracks too, she'll catch you for sure, no matter how fast you are. Take your punishment with pride.' she said, walking away from a puzzled and frightened Yu Nishinoya, who then gave a pleading look to his teammates from across the court. Yu Nishinoya suddenly felt a cold drop of sweat roll down his back as he met with Katharine's fiery grey ones at the other side of the court as Zofia threw the volleyball that Hinata fought Tsukishima for moments ago.

Katharine took a moment to enjoy the texture of the ball on her fingertips, excitement now coursing through her. She then turned her head to meet Hinata's auburn eyes and winked at him, catching the orange-haired middle blocker by surprise. 'You must be Shoyo Hinata!' she exclaimed loudly, gesturing for him to come closer. Hinata swallowed dryly, suddenly very intimidated by this strange foreigner as he sought reassurance from his vice-captain.

'Does-does she want me to co-come to her? _Why me? _She could hurt me, bad!' he whimpered. Kochi giggled. 'Go on, Hinata. It'll be fine.' He then heard Tsukishima chuckle.

'_Oh no_.' he said as he brought his hand to his mouth in horror sarcastically. 'How terrible would that be.' _Damn that Tsukishima, he's so mean_, thought Hinata.

Shoyo Hinata sighed, executing himself as he walked towards the Canadian spiker, her teammates smearing behind her. All of them were so tall- _wait_, not the libero, but still, to Hinata, her exuberance made up for her lack of height- and he felt as if their imposing physique would crush him. As he struggled to maintain a calm composure, he stopped before her and laughed nervously.

'Yeah, it's me. Shoyo Hinata, that's right.' he said, scratching the back of his head anxiously. 'So you've heard of me?' he continued, his nervous behavior ever so endearing to Katharine.

'Of course! Tobio told me about you _um_\- what was it that you called him, Tobio?' she called out to Kageyama, who smirked arrogantly.

'_An annoying little __**dweeb**_.' he replied, knowing very well that Hinata would then throw a fit. And his predictions were correct, he did throw a fit before the girls of the North American Women's Youth volleyball club. His indignation made Katharine giggle.

'You told them I was a _what?_ Kageyama, you're such a mean guy! I am not an annoying little dweeb! And you know it!' he screamed, a signature pout on his face. Katharine put a warm hand on his shoulder, making the smaller oranged-haired middle blocker freeze, a blush now decorating his face.

'Don't worry about that, Shoyo. _Kare o kinishinaide_, don't mind him. He also told me you're one of the most intuitive players of this team and that you have pure, raw talent. And he also told me that your serves are rather atrocious... in the most endearing way, of course.'

Echoes of laughter could now be heard throughout the gym as Tanaka, Sugawara, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi cackled mockingly at Hinata, clutching to their sides as their mocking cackles filled the Karasuno High School gymnasium. 'Oh, **burn**! You have been _roasted_, my dude!' exclaimed Tanaka.

'More like _seared_.' replied Tsukishima, Yamaguchi wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes.

Hinata pouted, his cheeks now flaming red with embarrassment as he frowned at the tall blond.

'Well, you're one to talk! It's not like your serves are any better, Mean-o-shima! They can barely make it past the net.' he replied. Katharine admired the backbone on the smaller orange-haired middle blocker. _He has spunk and a will to learn._ _Good, he'll need that passion if he's going to make it through our training, _she thought.

Katharine spun the volleyball in her hands as she quietly listened to the boys from Karasuno High School's volleyball club bickering, which brought a larger smile to her lips. 'You guys not only need training in volleyball... You need a better team spirit as well. How will you ever win that Spring Tournament if you can't learn to listen and support one another?' This made Zofia, the tall American blue-eyed spiker smirk.

'If this was a bitching contest, they would surely win. Good thing we're here to train them, they'll be eaten alive without us.' she replied.

Hinata's eyes suddenly glowed up with admiration, his auburn eyes now full of excitement and anticipation. He looked at Tobio Kageyama, who nodded, confirming what he had just heard.

'_**You're here to train us?**_ Are you serious? _**THIS IS SO COOL!**_ _I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS. PLEASE TRAIN ME, SENPAI!'_ he exclaimed, leaping in the air with excitement. Katharine smiled but noticed that the tall blond middle blocker was sporting an arrogant frown, chuckling.

'And _who are you_ to barge in here and claiming that you're going to train us? You seem like ordinary teenagers- rowdy, loud, foreign teenagers to me.' he said, his fingers reaching for the frame of his glasses to push them up to his nose. As he did so, Daichi Sawamura entered the gymnasium again wearing a frown and his arms crossed.

'Lose the attitude, Tsukishima. They're not ordinary volleyball players. As the name of their club implies, they're representatives for North America in the next World Tournament. The same tournament that some of the best under-nineteen athletes in Japan are going to play in, including Sakusa Kiyoomi and Wakatoshi Ushijima. The fact that Tobio Kageyama could bring them here is a grace in itself. Them training us for the upcoming Nationals… It truly is a unique opportunity for us to improve.' he said in a scolding tone, Tsukishima's eyes narrowed as he looked back at Katharine, his golden eyes fixated on her.

'Whatever. Arguing about this is pointless and I'm bored.'

Daichi sighed. 'Good, I'm glad we settled this. By the way, I'm Daichi Sawamura. I'm the captain of this team of nitwits, sorry if they caused you trouble.' he said, bowing to her. 'Now, about this training, we are talking about- _Nishinoya, what the hell are you doing all the way out there?_ Come back here-'

Yu Nishonoya smiled at the sound of his captain's voice calling him back to his team, only to stop dead in his tracks when Katharine raised her arm to point her finger at him, gesturing him to stay still right where he was, her grey eyes now giving him a sharp, almost feral look. Shivers jolted in his skin as he gave a pleading look to Daichi. But nothing could be done for him now.

'_**No**_. He stays right there. I have a point to make, captain. I'll be quick about this, I promise.' she replied to him, grabbing Hinata's shirt' short sleeve, pulling him alongside her as she walked to the right backside of the court as he followed her, confused.

'What are you-'

'Now, Shoyo. You said you wanted me to train with you. It's time to learn. Go back there and _observe_.' he said, gently pushing him at the back of the court, behind the service line, where Hinata joined Tobio Kageyama and the girls from the North American Women Women's Youth volleyball club as Katharine removed her club jacket, throwing it to Maria, who quickly caught it in her arms, her brown curls bouncing on her shoulders.

Kageyama frowned and turned to her, his steely blue eyes meeting her brown ones.

'What is she doing?' he asked.

Maria chuckled as she turned to look at her best friend, who placed herself behind the serving line, stretching her arms and legs. 'You see, there are two things that Katharine seems to be gifted at. For one, she's one of the best volleyball players I've ever seen or played with. And second…' said Maria, her voice lowering. 'She's an excellent gambler. Every bet she makes, she wins. Call it luck, call it sorcery. But every time she bets on something, she seems to find a way to win.'

Kageyama's puzzled expression turned to surprise. '**A bet? **Is that what this is?'

'That's right.' Katharine called out to him, looking at Kageyama and the girls from her team that stood on the sides of the court from the corner of her eyes, slightly petrified at her actions. 'And since your teammate decided to push the limits of what is acceptable earlier and jump on my person, I decided I'd make a bet to settle this little _situation._' she said, spinning the volleyball in her hands, a small smile etched on her lips. She turned around to face Yu Nishinoya from the far corner of her side of the court, pushing her braid back.

'_Oh shit._' muttered Maria, letting out a heavy sigh. There was no way Nishinoya was escaping this now.

'Hear me out!' she called out to him, her voice echoing throughout the gymnasium. 'Yes, it's true we came here with the purpose of training you guys for your tournament because your teammate Tobio Kageyama asked ever so nicely and because… well, quite frankly we had nothing else to do. He said that you guys were a respectful, well mannered, and passionate bunch and I believed his words.'

Kageyama frowned, raising his hands in the air in protest. '_I __**never **__said that_-'

'Shut up, setter boy. Don't spoil my fun now.' Zofia said to him, nudging his arm.

Katharine cleared her throat as the ball in her hand suddenly stopped spinning as her grip grew firmer, like the claws of the eagle on a freshly caught prey. Her grey eyes were now solely focused on the trembling libero that stood across the net from her.

'...But you just showed me how untrue his statement was when you decidedly jumped on me, tried to kiss me and demanded- or rather claimed my hand in marriage- _really, of all things_. And to fix this humiliation I suffered (Maria snorted at Katharine's theatrics), I wanna make a bet with you.' she said. 'It's simple, really. You just need to dig my serve. That's all you have to do.' she said, her lips twisting into a catty, devious smile. 'If you manage to dig my serve, Yu Nishinoya, you will be forgiven and we'll put this behind us.' she said, Yu managing a boyish and hopeful smile. He was quickly shut down by the firmness in her voice, in her words.

'**But.**' she continued. 'If you can't manage to dig my serve and push the ball across the net back to my side of the court, we leave. _No training, no helping you out, no __**nothing**_. We'll simply go back to Tokyo tomorrow and be merry tourists until it's time for us to go back home. Do you understand?'

Shock. Shock emanated from both teams, Karasuno and the North American Women's Youth volleyball club alike.

That's when Shoyo Hinata's mouth couldn't contain the anguish inside his body anymore. '_WHAT? _You can't do that! We need you, girls! More than anything, I want to win this tournament, I need to play, I NEED to win this-' Tobio Kageyama placed a large hand over the orange-haired boy's mouth, silencing him.

'Don't make this worst for us, dumbass! She's serious! _And I've seen her jump serves_.' he said, his blue eyes shooting glares at the shorter middle blocker from Karasuno. 'They're devastating, _bomb-like_. We all know Nishinoya is great, but he has virtually zero chance of digging her serves. They're the best I've ever seen, Hinata. Her technique is impeccable. Her raw, brute strength is unreal. The way she hits that ball made some of the best young players in this country _whimper in fear before her_. They're just like _his_-' Images of Wakatoshi Ushijima's figure in mid-air ready to pounce the ball at him sent shivers down his spine. These were memories Kageyama would rather forget because he had never felt so helpless on a volleyball court as he faced _him_ in a game.

'We're going to lose this one chance at being the best upcoming team in the Nationals.' realized Kageyama, his heart suddenly sinking.

'Well, that's a plot twist.' muttered Maria as she crossed her arms.

'He asked for it.' replied Zofia, who took out her wallet from her backpack. 'Ten?' she called out to Elia and Arissa, who shook their heads and laughed.

'Dude, no. Twenty. Who do you think I am, _a fool?_' Arissa called out as she also reached for her wallet, her hands reaching for money. 'Let's make this interesting and make it _fifty_. I say fifty bucks that Katharine wipes the floor with him.' Elia said as she snickered, making her twin sister huff in chuckles. Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata's jaws fell, floored by the fact that Katharine's teammates were betting on Yu Nishinoya to lose her little bet, as were the rest of the boys from the Karasuno High School volleyball club, who were now teary-eyed. Only the cool, calm and collected Kei Tsukishima remained unaffected as he sat on the wooden floor of the gymnasium with a loud sigh.

'Gambling… what a bunch of losers.'

'Are you guys seriously betting money on this?' asked Elizabeth, her quiet voice reaching to Zofia.

'Uh, yeah? Why not?' questioned Zofia. Elizabeth frowned, her green eyes now looking at the ground as she pressed her plush volleyball against her chest, in deep thoughts. 'We need someone to vouch for Nishinoya. Who is it gonna be?' called out Zofia to the boys from Karasuno, who stood on the sidelines, shocked.

Ryunosuke Tanaka gave Daichi a fiery look. 'Cap'! We have to support our boy!' he screamed, now clutching to Daichi's arm. 'Nishinoya needs to know we believe in him!'

Daichi laughed. 'Alright, Tanaka. Take out your wallet. Support him, I will second you.' he said.

There was a long pause before Tanaka cleared his throat, embarrassed. 'Well, you see… I had to spend my allowance on new court shoes this week and-'

'So you want _me_ to bet against _her_?' clarified Daichi, making Sugawara explode in laughter.

'Yeah!' Daichi couldn't be mad at the second-year spiker, his face lighting up with hope.

Immediate shutdown.

'No. Not happening. Sorry, junior.' said Daichi as he pulled his arm away from Tanaka and walked away from the rowdy second-year. Tanaka ran after him and fell to his knees, now in tears, begging the three third-years with his hands clapped together.

'Please, senpai Sawamura, Sugawara, and Asahi! I am begging, we can't let Nishinoya down like this! He needs us! I'll double on the gym cleaning, I'll even do your laundry for a week! I'll ask Saeko to make your meals! I'm even willing to help Hinata study- _and we all know that's a fucking task and a half_, but **please! **Don't let him down like this! This would mean everything!'

Daichi, Koushi, and Azumane looked at each other dumbfounded as the usually proud second-year spiker from Karasuno begged for them to support Nishinoya's in the girls' bet, only to hear Tsukishima snicker arrogantly from the outside of the court as he sat on the wooden floor of the gymnasium, his back cooly resting against the wall.

'Look, Tanaka.' He said, suddenly getting up, his long body slowly walking towards Karasuno's future ace. He adjusted his glasses, his amber eyes intensely fixated on his teammates. 'If we judge her skills from the King's perspective on this, we'll lose the bet. And we don't need them to train us, we managed before they got here. And why fight the inevitable? Let Kageyama's new little friend test her luck out against Nishinoya. No one will take that bet because if the King's right-' He heard Kageyama growl at the use of his nickname. 'Then we'll lose face _and_ money-'

'One hundred.' a small voice called out.

Kei Tsukishima turned around and found the source of the quiet voice who defied his own.

And it was none other than Elizabeth, the shy, green-eyed setter that spoke out. His mouth opened but he fell silent, an eyebrow raised in genuine curiosity. _What is going on here?_ He asked himself, his usually overactive brain short-circuited.

'**What?**' Zofia's surprise was evident from the shocked expression on her face. 'You're betting against your own teammate, your _captain?_' Even Maria was in a quiet state of consternation. It was unusual for Elizabeth to do anything radical as she was always very calculated in everything she did. _But this_. This was out of the ordinary for Elizabeth. The unknown has always been a great source of anxiety for her, but the fiery gleam of defiance in her eyes made the Mexican libero smile.

'No.' Corrected Elizabeth. 'I'm not betting _against _Katharine. I'm betting _for _Yu Nishinoya because his teammates clearly can't be trusted with any kind of moral support. Someone has to show them about a little team spirit.' she said, clutching tightly to her plush volleyball, visibly nervous but determined. Her mind was set. Yu Nishinoya blinked and smiled.

'Really? You're rooting for me?' he asked, his eyes wide with emotion. 'Clearly, I chose the wrong girl to propose to.' he muttered.

Tanaka's tears couldn't be contained anymore. 'Oh, thank you, Curly Hair senpai-sama! I owe you big time! Thank you for supporting my boy Nishinoya! Did you hear that, Nishi? You better dig that damn ball like your life depends on it!' he exclaimed, Nishinoya smirking.

'You know I'll try my best. _Now bring it!_ **I'm ready for you! GIVE ME ALL YOU'VE GOT!**' he screamed proudly, his knees now bent and hands ready to receive as his team watched impatiently for Katharine's next move. She spun the ball in her hands again, stepping behind the end line and into the service zone, her grey eyes focused on her prey. Her aim was locked on. Her target was unmoving, his light brown eyes meeting hers. He was ready.

And so was she.

'Oh, I'll give it to you alright.' she muttered, her words catching Kageyama's attention. He had seen this look in her eyes before. His heart pumped in excitement. He would see her serve again, he thought. He had been waiting for that ever since he'd seen her first serve during the training camp. Never had he seen such fervor in a player's eyes as the time she proved her worth against Sakusa Kiyoomi and his team.

As she threw the ball in the air with a kind of power and grace that only she could muster, Katharine jumped, her legs pushing her high in the air, her long dark braid wiping her back. Her grey eyes glimmered with the fire of excitement, her lips twisted in a signature wicked smile. She felt it, her form was near perfect, her arm and hand aligned perfectly with the ball. Her jump serve was one of her weapons on a court and she has practiced long and hard to achieve such a dedicated form and performed thousands of serves. She was often alone at home and lonely, her parents often gone on business trips. And she hardly ever made any friends, so she often could be found in her school's gymnasium on school nights and weekends, even holidays practicing her serves and her spikes until no local player could compete with her anymore. With this one swing, she would be able to determine if this libero, along with his team, had what it takes to become better players. This would be a testament to their passion for the sport.

'Do it, Katharine!' she heard Maria call out to her, cheering for her.

'Come on Nishinoya, _dig it!_ You can do this!' screamed Hinata, jumping high in trepidation.

'You can do this, Noya!' cheered Tanaka. 'Show her what the Guardian Deity of Karasuno can do!'

_One breath._ That's all it took before Katharine grunted harshly, swinging her arm with her unique strength to hit the ball- _no_, to thrash the ball savagely, her body moving with the motion as the volleyball furiously flew towards Karasuno's libero, almost too quickly for his eyes to comprehend what he was seeing. All he saw was the powerful swing she took at the white and blue volleyball and the sharpness in her eyes, in the pure excitement in her expression. The sound of contact that echoed in the gymnasium when her hand met the ball made the boys from Karasuno High School stop moving completely, powerless before the spectacle that was her jump serve. Even the arrogant Kei Tsukishima didn't dare to blink as he didn't want to miss one millisecond of this unusual event.

'That's a fireball for ya. Classic.' said Maria as Kageyama and Hinata's eyes grew wide with surprise and suspense. Hinata gasped. _Fireball?! __**That's so cool! **__I need to learn how to do that!_

The sounds of the air splicing by the incoming volleyball made Nishinoya's knees tremble for a split second, his hands shaking. His mind was racing as he was too concentrated to even blink. Blinking would be a grave mistake to make, he thought. _It's too fast for me to dig… I can't make it, I won't make it! _He thought as he saw his window to dig the ball with his hand to become smaller and smaller. He finally moved feet, lunging forward with all his might, but he had been too late. Even with the Rolling Thunder, he would not make it. She had spiked the ball too hard and too fast for him to even remotely think of digging it from the ground, like an animal that had aimed to wound its prey. He could feel his team's disappointment as they also figured out that he would never make it in time, Daichi's worried frown imprinted in Nishinoya's mind.

_No, this can't happen… It's all my fault, it's all because I was dumb… Oh, what to do now, Kami-sama? I am the Guardian Deity of Karasuno, I can't let them down..._

He saw the volleyball heading in his direction and he stopped in his tracks. If only he had used his head the minute she had jumped from her serve!

_Wait a minute… Use my head… That's it, I need to use my head! I can't let my team down!_

With a bold and extended dive, Nishinoya threw himself to the ground and felt the harsh landing to his bones. But he didn't care about the pain. All he cared about at that moment was that the ball was dangerously close to the floor and in an instant, out of pure luck, the volleyball hit his brow. The impact of that furious serve made Nishinoya dizzy as the rest of his body fell to the ground, his head now resting on the cold planks of wood of the gymnasium, his eyes never leaving the ball. He sighed. It was short, much shorter than he anticipated. The volleyball slowly flew towards the net in a low dip that made his heart stop.

'Not gonna make it…' he whispered to himself, exhausted by the sheer effort it took him to even manage to dig this one nightmare of a serve. He's had good players serve to him before, but no one ever asked him to pull a headshot as he just did. As he looked at the ball come dangerously close to the net, he mentally apologized to his teammates and slowly closed his eyes, taken aback by his own lack of control over the situation.

And then he heard the volleyball hit the net and he closed his eyes in defeat. _Well, I gave it my all, _he thought.

And then he heard Ryonosuke Tanaka's voice. '_Look!_ The ball is about to fall over!'

And with that Katharine's eyes noticed the ball stood still on the net and then…

It dropped over Katharine's side of the court. She blinked in silence as a small grin appeared on her face as Tanaka fell on his knees, tears of joy rolling down his cheeks. 'HE DID IT. HE DID IT! _**THAT'S MY MAN!**_'

'ALRIGHT!' cheered Hinata in unison. 'We get to train with them, we won the bet!'

'Well, well. He managed to pull it off. Color me surprised.' she told herself as she wiped the sweat off her brow.

Happiness transpired on the faces of the boys from Karasuno High School, but the same couldn't be said from the girls of the North American Women's Youth volleyball club. Zofia's defeated face made Maria and Katharine giggle, followed by angry groans from Arissa and Elia.

'_**God damn it! My money!' **_screamed Zofia, throwing her wallet on the ground in anger.

'_My_ money, you mean.' replied Elizabeth, a sly smile decorating her lips. 'Shut up!'

Katharine turned back to face Nishinoya, who was getting up slowly from his nosedive, shaken but unharmed. She quickly jogged towards him and helped him up. 'Are you alright? That was a hard fall.' she said to him as he put a hand on his shoulder.

'Oh, I've tumbled down harder than that before, miss.'

Katharine chuckled. 'You won our little bet, I'm not angry anymore. You can call me Katharine, Yu. That'll make it easier for us when we practice and play together this week.'

And with that, they shook hands. Maria sighed. 'Oh, I'm so glad this is over.' she said.

Elizabeth smirked at her, counting her winning as the rest of the girls sulked in a corner, mourning the loss of their own allowance.

And with that, Nishinoya winked at Katharine, his rather devilish good looks making her raise an eyebrow at his slightly unsubtle charms. 'Alright, then. Katharine. Wow, that's a mouthful. Mind if I just call you Kath?'

She nodded. 'I don't mind. Just as long as you don't try to kiss me again… or propose to me.'

His grin couldn't be any bigger. 'Ok, got it... _Neko-chan!_ But man, was that ever the best jump serve I've ever seen- _Coach, how long have you been standing there?_' exclaimed Nishinoya as he noticed the tall figure of Keishin Ukai standing by the doors of the gymnasium, his mouth wide open, his dark eyes so round they looked like yen coins.

'What the _**hell**_ was that all about?

Katharine frowned. How could she have not noticed his presence? She must have been more focused than she thought. But Keishin Ukai was not what she noticed first when she glanced to her right, towards the sliding doors of Karasuno High's gymnasium.

It was the other figure otherworldly tall figure that stood next to him that caught her attention. His strong and yet lean body was still, his jaw clenched at the sight of them. _Did he witness the whole thing? Who is he? And why is he staring at me like that? _This absurdly stoic-looking young man with short brown hair, an athlete by the looks of him, was staring straight at her, his intense olive eyes meeting her grey ones, his pupils dilated. And what she found in them made her heart beat faster and her brow turn into a frown.

_**The fire of competition.**_


	9. Top of the Food Chain

Wakatoshi Ushijima had gotten out of the minivan with a stoic and plain look on his face, his usual facial expression as small and damp snowflakes fell on his hair, the chilly wind sending goosebumps across his skin. He had listened to Keishin Ukai babbles and endless stories until they had gotten to Karasuno High and right until the crow's coach stopped the vehicle, lighting a cigarette as he jumped out of the van himself, stretching.

'I swear if these boys cause any more trouble today, I will punch holes in every volleyball inside this gym.' he said as he flicked away his cigarette butt, walking towards the back of the school, resolute.

'Come on, Wakatoshi. This won't take long. I'll drive you to the station after. I just need to see if my libero needs stitches or not.'

With a long uninterested sigh, Wakatoshi Ushijima followed the blond-haired volleyball coach, his strides matching his. This feat wasn't difficult considering Wakatoshi now measured over six foot four inches and that he was all legs. He was amongst the tallest players of the prefecture, only outclassed in height by his friend and teammate Tendo Satori, who stood at a towering six foot five inches, making him the tallest human being he'd ever seen. As Wakatoshi followed Keishin towards the back gym in the damp and cold, he couldn't but notice that Karasuno High was a rather small school with only a few buildings to its main campus.

Shiratorizawa Academy, the private school he went to, was much larger with a wider range of facilities such as large specialized labs and classrooms, multiple sports complex buildings, a large track field, and even a baseball pit- but all these privileges came at a price. The entrance exam was extremely difficult to pass and the schooling fees were the highest in all of Sendai, probably in all of Miyagi. But Wakatoshi had been lucky. He had been born in a very wealthy family and had been awarded a full sports scholarship when he passed his entrance exam. Even his room and boarding fees were covered. Wakatoshi lived a privileged life and rarely stepped outside of his bubble, making this foreign territory for him.

When looking at Karasuno High's main building, Wakatoshi Ushijima was confronted by the reality that he was indeed fortunate and that if it would not have been for the fact that he had lucked out in the game of life, he would probably have winded up here too, at Karasuno High. By no means was Karasuno High a terrible school. Sure, it was a plain-looking older public high school with only two small gymnasiums and the uniform wasn't terrible- it was pretty decent and its military design was rather classy- but if he had been enrolled here, he would have played with _them_. With _him_. Shoyo Hinata. And his equally infuriating setter, Tobio Kageyama.

And_ that _made Wakatoshi Ushijima thankful. Nothing would be more annoying than to play on the same team with that orange-haired shrimp that bounced all over as if he drank forty energy drinks in one sitting and his angsty and arrogant setter. Tendo Satori was hard to handle sometimes, thought Wakatoshi, but that number ten player, Shoyo Hinata… Now, _that _would test the limits of his patience. And he only had a preview at the regional rookie training camp, where Shoyo Hinata did not hesitate to bombard him with questions about spiking, serving- really anything volleyball related that utterly irritated Wakatoshi. _He is completely ignorant of how I feel about him. He doesn't see that I dislike him beyond belief. How can someone be so dense? _Keishin Ukai noticed how Wakatoshi seemed distant, his jawline still stiff with the heaviness of his thoughts, his eyes shifting as he looked in the distance.

'Are you cold, Wakatoshi? You're only wearing a sports vest.' asked Keishin, calling out to him.

'No.' he replied, his expression unchanging.

As they walked up the stairs leading to the small gymnasium, Keishin cleared his throat, his hands firmly placed on the large gym door handle.

'I swear if I have to clean up blood, I'll-'

When he opened the gym's heavy sliding door, the high school coach stopped moving abruptly, his eyes riveted on the sight that appeared before him, the third-year Shiratorizawa prodigy athlete almost stepping over his feet. He grunted annoyingly when he also raised his eyes and met with the spectacle of this elegant yet powerful figure that jumped in the air, defying the laws of gravity with an almighty momentum that caught even him by surprise.

Before he appeared a young woman dressed in a black, red and white sports uniform, a player like no other as she rammed her delicate hand against the volleyball she threw in the air for an absurdly powerful jump serve, her face slightly distorted by the bedeviled expression of intensity that matched the fire in her eyes. _What a powerful jump and an even more aggressive serve, _he thought, his olive eyes glued to her, to her technique, to the way her muscles contracted and extended before him.

What struck Wakatoshi outside of her monster strength was her eyes. Not the color, not the shape. It was her gaze. It was focused, feral like. It was the fire in them, the hunger to perform, the will to silence her opponent on the other side of the net, the determination to end this without Karasuno's libero able to do anything to stop her, to vanquish her opponent.

He bit his lip.

_It's the same look that Shoyo Hinata had in his eye when he defeated me._

That thought made him scowl, his eyes slightly narrowing in anger. He frowned deeply and analyzed the trajectory of the ball that ripped the air at the speed of sound, its fury directed towards the shorter Karasuno High's libero, who looked desperate to reach the ball as it hit his head, the volleyball flying back in the air to tip over the net on her side of the court, ending what seemed to be either the resulting end of a small feud or the most deliriously passionate practice serve he'd ever seen. It was over before Keishin and Wakatoshi knew it and the young woman had the time to land gracefully on her feet, her long dark braid falling over her shoulder, her hand moving to her face to wipe the sweat off her brow.

Wakatoshi Ushijima was astonished by the sheer control this foreign young woman had over her every movement during this incredible jump serve. And her eyes. Grey eyes. _The color of rain, _he thought_. _Her expression was so determined, almost arrogantly so… they _angered _him.

Wakatoshi Ushijima's fists clenched as the smaller Karasuno High libero rose from the ground with a proud smirk on his face, his chin slightly bruised. He had dug her jump serve just barely, but he had done it, something Wakatoshi silently praised. This libero of theirs, Yu Nishinoya… _He's grown in strength and skill since the last time I saw him… _he thoughts, his eyes going back to this foreign unknown spiker, his eyes now moving to the woven volleyball club patch on her volleyball jersey. _The North American Women Youth's volleyball team… Is this what their caliber is?_

After a few words, the whole crew of volleyball players turned their heads towards the gym door, Yu Nishinoya's brown eyes widening as he saw coach Keishin Ukai standing there, blinking, in awe before what he had just seen.

'Coach, how long have you been standing there?'

'What the **_hell _**is this all about?' exclaimed the Karasuno alumni, completely confused by what he had just seen.

Katharine finally made eye contact with the tall Japanese volleyball player from Shiratorizawa Academy, slightly intimidated by the intense gaze he looked at her with, his dark olive eyes piercing through her. She felt uneasy as a frown was drawn on her brow.

_Why is he looking at me like I did something unforgivable? _Her thoughts were easily troubled in a matter of mere seconds. All because of this tall, smug-faced individual that would simply not lift his gaze from her.

The world had seemed to stop as she analyzed this imposing figure that stood next to who she deducted was Karasuno High's volleyball coach. She noticed just how stern-looking this high school senior looked, his face straight and emotionless. She had never seen someone so young look so damn **_serious_**. It was as if the only act of her even being in his presence irritated him, or at the very least, that's what expression told her from where she stood. Katharine knew it was ridiculous of her to think that but did he ever make her feel like she wanted to disappear. Katharine noticed his clenched fists and his jaw tensing at the sight of her, making him look rather menacing. _Have I done something wrong?_

He looked so stern and his expression was so severe… If she had been alone with him, she would have felt threatened. _I hate that look in his eyes- what, does he think he's better than me? _But as she glared at him with a renewed defiance in her eye- _he is not the only one capable of nasty looks _she thought, Katharine chuckled to herself and her expression softened.

_What am I doing, trying to go toe to toe with a giant like him… He's just so big and so tall. And I'm not. He'd be pretty handsome if he'd just smile- ugh, this is so not happening. Just ignore him! _Her mind screamed at her to break the heated connection, but he remained stoic and intense.

'Hey Coach! Um, it's totally fine, we settled it! And I didn't even have to suffer much, please don't be mad!' said Nishinoya with a grin as Coach Ukai sighed in exasperation. One minute Daichi is calling him about an angry foreign girl punching his libero into oblivion and the other they already had made up and were on the court exchanging balls.

'I'm getting too old for this crap.' he mumbled. 'I'm just_ too old _for this.' he said as he let his tense shoulders relax, his fingers brushing his blonde hair back as another sigh escaped his lips.

'Well, I'm glad she didn't hurt you too bad Noya, 'cause you earned yourself a round of thirty dives for the trouble you caused today.' Nishinoya's face fell when he heard his coach's punishment, his eyes slightly watering. But Keishin was not swayed by his puppy eyes and sad pout.

'Chop chop, do I look like I'm kidding?' Nishinoya sighed, slowly nodding in defeat.

'Got it, Coach.' he replied despondently, quickly running to the other side of the gym to accept his punishment, Tanaka rushing to him in solidarity.

'Don't worry my guy, I'll do them with you.' Nishinoya high fived his best friend, a large grin on his lips.

'Thanks, Tanaka. You're a real pal.'

The cold wind from outside blew harshly within the gymnasium, sending shivers up Maria's legs. Attentive as always, Tobio Kageyama noticed just how the small goosebumps that ran on the Mexican libero's legs traveled up to her arms, her small body affected by the sudden gusts of cold wind that came from outside. He looked right and left and made sure nobody looked at him before he walked towards his bags, picking his sports vest from his backpack and quickly offered it to Maria, his ears suddenly burning.

'Here.' he said, his blue eyes looking away as a small yet shy smile appeared on her face as she accepted it and put it on her shoulders, over her vest.

'Thank you, it's gotten pretty chilly.' she whispered to him, her brown eyes trying to catch his gaze as he intended to not look at her, the blood from his boiling ear tips now rushing to his cheeks He pursed his lips, trying to control himself and his now shaky voice.

'It's nothing, don't mention it.' he said, looking away, making sure that none of his teammates had seen his gesture of chivalry as she walked towards Zofia and Elizabeth. He sighed in relief and admired the Mexican libero from a distance but saw from the corner of his eye the silly grin plastered on Shoyo Hinata's face, his auburn gaze directed towards him, his mouth curved in a mischievous grin that made Karasuno High's setter nervous. Kageyama inhaled sharply, his cheeks now flushed with a hue of pink.

'You. _Saw. _**_Nothing_**.' he quietly told the shorter middle blocker, his steely-blue eyes gleaming with embarrassment.

Hinata's grin grew wider at his team's setter reaction. 'You think I'm blind or what, _Bakayama _?' he said, blowing him a raspberry. 'I know you did this because she looks so pretty-' Kageyama threw himself on Hinata, putting a hand to his mouth to silence him, forcing Hinata to squirm under him, suffocating.

'**Hinata-boke!** _Stay quiet! _And can someone please close that damn door, it's freezing in here!'

Katharine briskly walked towards Keishin, presenting her hand. 'I'm Katharine, captain of the North American Women Youth's volleyball team, it's very nice to meet you. Thank you for letting us practice with your boys this week. I hope this is not a big inconvenience for you, seeing as you are their coach and all and this was rather planned at the last minute…' she said, Keishin smirking. He shook her hand and gently pushed his blond locks back.

'It's no trouble at all. I'm glad you girls are here to… um, _supervise _them. Thank you for not obliterating my libero. From that monstrous jump serve, I'm surprised that right hook of yours didn't leave him with brain damage-' And then he looked at Nishinoya and heard him squawk to Tanaka, imitating a penguin as he plunged on the ground, Tanaka tailing him. Keishin sighed as he rubbed his temples.

'Um, nevermind.' He said, chuckling. 'As you may have noticed, they're quite the special bunch.' he said, looking out at Karasuno High's volleyball team as the rest of the boys welcomed the girls and slowly getting acquainted with them, Daichi and Sugawara introducing them.

'Thank you for welcoming us here, Keishin-san.' She said, bowing.

He seemed embarrassed.

'Oh, the pleasure is mine! And I am honored that you accepted to come here, it means a lot. I know this was not part of your travel plans but I hope we can make your stay with us enjoyable… or at the very least entertaining.' he said as she chuckled lightly.

'I _highly _doubt they'll be boring to play with.' she said, looking over at Nishinoya and Tanaka chest-bumping, getting riled up as they finished their round of dives.

'It will be an **experience** for sure.' she continued as she moved her gaze towards the tall athlete standing next to Keishin, who hadn't said a word yet. His eyes were still transfixed on her, his burning glare making her uncomfortable. Katharine swallowed her pride and sighed, also extending her hand to him.

'And you are?' she asked nervously, her hand slightly shaking. Wakatoshi did not move. He did not say a word. He only looked at her, refusing to even shake her hand, making Katharine slightly annoyed at his rudeness. He slightly _rolled his eyes at her _she was wasting his time and space- and sighed, visibly annoyed. And then he opened his mouth, his eyes never leaving Katharine's.

'I have no interest in getting acquainted with you.'

Keishin cleared his throat, sensing the palpable tension between the two teenagers. Not acknowledging her presence was something that even took Keishin by surprise, but this? He could sense the Canadian spiker's blood boiling. Wakatoshi Ushijima was known to be socially awkward, yes. Stoic and blunt? Absolutely. Even a little competitive? Most definitely. But blatantly disrespectful? No… What irritated him about her? In all of his interactions with Wakatoshi, Shiratorizawa's volleyball prodigy, he had never looked so aggravated.

'Excuse me?' she asked with a raised eyebrow.

'I don't bother with people who do not matter.'

Maria heard Kouchi Sugawara mumble angry words under his breath. 'Oh, **Mister Perfect** thinks he can be uncivil now. Douchebag.' His frustration was apparent with whom they affectionately called _'Ushiwaka.'_

'Hey, it's Ushiwaka! Hey, Wakatoshi-san!-' screamed Hinata, only to be hushed by Tanaka.

'Just don't, dude.'

Even Daichi and Elizabeth, who had been conversing calmly, seemed unnerved by the small altercation between the two spikers, Elizabeth growing more and more uncomfortable as she kneaded her plush volleyball.

'Asshole.' she heard Tsukishima say as he pushed his glasses up his nose, visibly irritated by the tall arrogant stranger they had just met. Zofia looked at Maria with indignation, unimpressed by Shiratorizawa's ace's disrespect towards their captain. Maria balled her fists, her legendary fiery temper getting the better of her.

'Has he ever heard of a knuckle sandwich? It's my specialty.' Maria's displeasure at this tall stranger's attitude towards her best friend and teammate and it also fueled Zofia's growing resentment towards Shiratorizawa's ace, her icy-blue eyes now colder than ever.

'The bastard doesn't know who he's dealing with.' This made Arissa and Elia smirk, the eldest twin, Arissa shaking her head in disbelief.

'Chump. She'll eat him alive.'

'Grab a snack, grab a drink, let's see her pop off.'

**'He pisses me off!'** grunted the blue-eyed setter, unsettled at the thought of his Shiratorizawa rival being rude to his guest and a new friend. Friend? _Oh shit, I'm making friends. Oh shit, oh shit. Stay calm, nobody needs to see you being all awkward about it. _Hinata's mischievous gaze directed at Kageyama for his sudden embarrassment earned him another menacing nudge from the blue-eyed setter. _There_, thought Kageyama. _Not awkward. But still… that bastard Wakatoshi… What a bag of dicks!_

Not only had he been treated the same way by Wakatoshi Ushijima in the past but Kageyama found it profoundly unfair that the tall olive-eyed ace would treat her like this because he was upset about losing to Karasuno High in the regionals, taking his frustrations out on her and subsequently her team as well. After all, she had nothing to do with this rivalry between Karasuno High and Shiratorizawa, so why was he so uncouth towards the captain of the North American Women Youth's volleyball team? What made him snap?

Katharine was trying to stay calm amidst her last strands of patience blowing away in the cold winter morning wind, a small vein appearing on her forehead. _That smug prick-_

Her thoughts were cut off by Keishin's voice. _Do something before she punches this one too!_

'This is Wakatoshi Ushijima, captain of the boys' volleyball team at Shiratorizawa Academy and the prefecture's number one ace. He's in the top three spikers in the country. He's also going to play in the Youth World Tournament like you guys.' Katharine's eyes lit up. Partly because she was genuinely excited to be introduced (rather unconventionally and unpleasantly) to someone that played to her and her teammates' caliber, but she remembered his early words and disgusting attitude, and her tune quickly changed. She hated to admit it- _Maria always took a sick pleasure in reminding her _\- there always had been a grudgingly petty side to her personality. As responsible and caring as she was, Katharine had a short fuse, the girls knew it. And now the boys also knew.

It was just a matter of time now before all of Sendai was made aware too.

Another haughty look from him and she had had enough.

Call it a bad habit, she just couldn't hold it in anymore.

'Here we go.' whispered Elia.

'Oh, I heard about you! Apparently, you're really talented.' Katharine said to Wakatoshi, her words oozing with spite, her empty cheerfulness unable to deceive Keishin who suddenly became very nervous. 'It's really too bad you lost to Karasuno High in the InterHigh finals, surely you would have made your school proud by going to the Nationals.' she said, his expression slowly morphing from stoic to utterly irritated.

His ominous mood only seemed to fuel her attitude even more. 'Tobio-kun told me _all about it_. And Hinata's last spike…' she said, putting her hand to her mouth and loudly gasping to accentuate her theatrics. 'That little first-year got you good, uh? I guess there's always next year… or not.'

Her words echoed through the gymnasium. Not even the frigid mid-winter wind coming from the open door behind them matched the coldness of her words.

**There was silence.** **_Heavy, tense silence._** And the glaring resumed between the two volleyball prodigies, Katharine's grey eyes meeting Wakatoshi's deep olive ones in a silent budding rivalry that made their fueled silence the more uncomfortable for Keishin, who cursed his job as a coach and wished he'd stayed in bed that morning. Her lips twisted into an imperious smile as Wakatoshi's defined jaw grew tense, his fiery glares matching hers.

Keishin Ukai's jaw dropped as Tanaka's voice quietly disrupted the charged atmosphere.

'Did she just… **_diss _**Ushiwaka?' he asked in utter shock in disbelief, Nishonoya's mouth slightly opened as he nodded.

'Sure seems like it.' replied Nishinoya, praising the skies that he was now on her good side.

Sugawara snickered. 'I like her. Can we keep her, Daichi? Please?' he begged his captain, Daichi shook his head in exasperation and sighed.

'Today is just not my day.' he let out. 'Why is everyone misbehaving? Is there a full moon happening tonight?'

Wakatoshi Ushijima stood there jolted, her words provoking a rare kind of anger that burned at his ear tips and made his Adam's apple rock up and down rapidly with this surge of adrenaline. He couldn't remember the last time someone addressed him in such a way, his frown growing deeper into a scowl. All of his anger, all of the pent up aggression he amassed ever since his defeat against Karasuno High a few weeks ago, the sad look in his teammates' eyes haunting him as they left the Sendai gymnasium that burned through his memories of his last InterHigh tournament… _And her eyes_. It mutated his already heated temper into a storm of angry thoughts.

The sharp look in the eyes of this foreign stranger that matched his… made him realize just what was eating him up for so long. A groan escaped his lips.

The mere thought of it made him sick to his stomach.

There had been no one there to bring him back to reality, even before all of this happened. All his life he had been told he was the best, the strongest, the fastest, and the brightest. He had put himself on a pedestal so early on that he had become grossly vain. No one had tried to wake him up from his self-made delusions that he created for himself and this girl, whoever she was or where she came from, did just that for him. This sudden realization felt like being thrown in an icy cold lake in the middle of winter. He was not the only good volleyball player, he was not the only prodigy athlete in this world, in_ his _world.

The anger in his expression suddenly vanished completely. He calmed down from his temper surge, Katharine noticing his sudden mood change and huffed.

'Cat got your tongue, uh?' she continued, never leaving his gaze. Wakatoshi looked puzzled for a moment.

And that's when Katharine got stunned herself at the change in his expression, the rigidity in his face turning almost innocently inquisitive. He raised a curious eyebrow at her statement.

'That is highly improbable. I do not own a cat.'

Katharine did not know how to respond to that. _Is he serious? Doesn't he know that I did not mean that literally? Oh my god, what a weirdo. What is wrong with people in this town?_

'It's an expression, doofus. People today...' she replied dumbstruck, rolling her eyes and slowly walking away from him towards the girls from her team, astounded by this man's lack of social skills. Her long sigh was enough for him to understand that their altercation was over. Wakatoshi's tense shoulders had relaxed and he allowed himself to look at this infuriating, smart tongued and sharp-eyed stranger before turning around, exiting the gymnasium.

'Wait up, Wakatoshi. I said I'd drive you to the station, didn't I?' Keishin said, turning back around to the Karasuno boys with a menacing expression, Tanaka squealing in fear. Even Maria got goosebumps at the sight of Coach Ukai's fearsome look.

'If you guys cause any more trouble today, I'll change the gym locks. _And I mean it _.' he said, quickly following Wakatoshi outside in the damp cold, closing the heavy door behind him. Asahi shuddered.

'Would he do that?' he said, looking at Daichi.

'I don't want to find out. Alright, guys. We're already late as it is on today's practice schedule. Let's practice some receives, right Hinata? It's not just a rumor. You sorely need it.' he said, eyeing the smaller middle blocker, who blushed deeply, his embarrassment only accentuated by Tobio Kageyama's snickers.

'Yes, captain!'

Maria stepped towards Daichi with a large smile, her hair now pulled back in a messy ponytail.

'Mind if we join you?' she asked. He nodded.

'Only if you help us set up the gym. Think you can do some heavy lifting?' he replied and Maria laughed, nudging his arm.

'I'm short, not frail.' she said, running after Nishinoya as he followed him to the equipment storage to help Asahi, Tanaka, Nishinoya, Kageyama, and Hinata take out the heavy posts and the rolling volleyball caddies while Tsukishima and Tadashi helped bring the volleyball carts. Even Zofia and Elizabeth helped out straightening and tying the net to the tall heavy posts.

_Finally, something that is going right this morning_, thought Katharine as she reached out to her duffle bag and looked inside only to realize she was out of sports tape. _It can't be just a normal morning practice, right? No, of course not. The universe is playing with me this morning. _With an exasperated groan, she stood up again and looked at the gym's heavy door, hoping Coach Ukai had not left the parking lot yet.

'Daichi!' she called out. 'I need to stop by a pharmacy or a sports shop, we ran out of tape! I'll try to catch a ride with Coach Ukai just now, I won't take long! Don't let the girls have their way with them!' she called out before storming out of Karasuno High's volleyball gymnasium, stepping outside in the cold and damp weather. She didn't mind it, she was used to the same kind of weather back home. She dashed towards the parking at an alarming speed, bypassing students that gave her interrogating looks and she also flew past them, her feet barely touching the ground.

Her sprint brought her to the almost empty parking lot. She stopped, chasing her breath when she spotted Keishin and Wakatoshi climbing inside his vehicle, about to leave.

**_'Wait!' _**she yelled, waving her hand as she ran towards them, jumping over numerous steps.

When she finally caught up to them, Keishin unrolled his window, dropping the cigarette he was trying to light.

'What do you want now?' he asked, making her smile.

'Ran out of sports tape.'

Keishin rolled his eyes and looked at Wakatoshi who was sitting at the back from his rearview mirror, paying no mind to her as the high school coach unlocked the door to his minivan.

'Get in.' he said. 'We'll stop at my friend's store after we drop Wakatoshi.'

'Thanks, coach.' she said, sliding open the minivan door to find this unpleasant stranger ignoring her, his gaze completely averting hers as he looked out the window from his seat. _Fine, be like that._

She sat next to him in silence as Keishin spoke loudly to her for the entire trip, asking her about America, what it was like to live there, and if she's ever seen the Statue of Liberty. Katharine giggled.

'Maybe you should ask Arissa and Elia, they're from Brooklyn. I've only ever gone to training camps and short trips there. But the food's delicious. New York pizza is the best.' she said, Keishin swallowing the information she was giving him. Katharine found Coach Ukai to be very interesting to talk to. He had vast volleyball knowledge and seemed to greatly care for the boys of the Karasuno High volleyball team. Their conversation was fluid and fun.

It almost made her forget who sat next to her, ignoring her existence.

Wakatoshi Ushijima, ace of his school's team, Olympic hope for his country and an _utter ass_.

_But he did not deserve the way I spoke to him. _Guilty slowly consumed Katharine, who finally found the courage to look at him.

'I'm sorry about earlier.' Keishin drove but listened closely to her words. 'I should not have said what I said.'

_No response. _

Wakatoshi simply sighed and kept looking outside the window.

Katharine shrugged off his haughty attitude. _I tried, _she thought. The important thing is that he had heard her.

Before long, Keishin stopped the van at the bus and local train terminus and Wakatoshi removed his seat belt and opened the van's door as soon as he could.

'Make sure you eat a meal when you get back to the Academy, Wakatoshi. _I'm serious_, Coach Washijo will have my ass if you get sick.' he said as Wakatoshi politely nodded.

'Thank you for the ride.' he said, his deep voice filling the vehicle before he turned around and faced Katharine, his olive eyes meeting hers. Katharine and Wakatoshi shared a long gaze, a small sheepish smile appearing on his face.

'Take care, Waka-'

'Get home soon.' he said, shutting the van door abruptly before jogging to the local train dock, Katharine sitting at the back of Keishin's konbini's delivery vehicle, stumped.

She groaned, infuriated again.

He hadn't said it in a _'I hope you have a nice and safe trip home _' way. No, he had been too stoic and plain for that.

He had said it in a _'I hope you get the hell out of here and never come back' _kind of way.

The red hue on the tips of her ears made Keishin cackle as he lit up another cigarette as it loosely hung from his lips.

'Isn't he a dear?' he asked.

She crossed her arms, annoyed.

'What an asshole.' she replied to him as they drove back to the other end of town, back towards Karasuno High, back to her friends and to her new family for the next week. On the way to the sports store, she sighed heavily and changed her mindset in an instant. Katharine was fortunate to experience this once in a lifetime training opportunity with her team, with Karasuno's team, and enjoy the best of what this beautiful town could offer her and her team.

And the best thing of all?

She would never have to see_ him _again.

**Ever.**

**_Like ever, ever again_****.**


	10. Omnivorous

Wakatoshi Ushijima stepped out of the transit station, heavy cold rain now falling on his shoulders and sending goosebumps across his skin. He decided that a brisk run to the Academy would keep him warm enough until he could change out of the damp clothes that clung to him. He ran fast, letting the rain wash away the streaks of sweat that ran down his temples, his legs now burning with the familiar sensation that usually helped clear his mind of negativity and stress. But he found himself running faster and faster, unable to get rid of this stranger's words that looped back and time again in his thoughts, the image of her grey eyes glaring at him engraved in his mind.

_'It's really too bad you lost to Karasuno High in the InterHigh finals, surely you would have made your school proud by going to the Nationals. Tobio-kun told me all about it. And Hinata's last spike…That little first-year got you good, uh? I guess there's always next year… _**_or not_**_.' _

Wakatoshi grunted in frustration. Her voice irritated him still, her accent resonating in his already crowded thoughts. He didn't know what frustrated him more: the fact that that infuriating first-year setter Tobio Kageyama had told this team of foreign athletes that he had lost to Karasuno High because of an inexperienced player's clumsy spike _or _the fact that she had single-handedly humiliated him in front of the InterHigh champions, the same team that made him lose his one-way ticket to victory in the Spring Nationals.

Wakatoshi Ushijima was not used to someone **opposing him **in that way and most certainly _not _in public.

His teammates always listened to him and acted on what he had to say. They followed his instructions to the letter on the court and _never _challenged him outside of it, and they were always respectful and non-intrusive (for the most part- maybe except for Tendo), knowing perfectly well that Wakatoshi was reserved and liked to keep it that way. They sometimes went out together as a team- Tendo always insists that Wakatoshi join the rest of the Shiratorizawa Academy volleyball crew to do trivial things like online gaming, hang out in the woods behind the gym, go for a group run or _worst_, participate in illegal drinking (not that Wakatoshi would _ever _touch alcohol, but it did make Semi more interesting to talk to)- but never did the guys dare to contradict or patronize Wakatoshi Ushijima on purpose.

And since Wakatoshi rarely spoke to anyone but his teammates and his coaches, it made his interactions with other students from the Academy especially awkward and robotic, interacting with girls being especially **_awful_**.

He could only roll his eyes at the memory of those terrible conversations. He just _couldn't _understand girls. Every time he talked to them, they squealed, fainted, or tugged possessively on his arm, invading his personal space and asked silly questions such as ' _What are you doing this weekend, Wakatoshi-kun? _' and ' _Can you help me study? We could spend time together that way. _' or ' _Are you seeing someone you like? _'

Wakatoshi shook his head, desperately trying to erase the unfortunate memories of these girls confessing their feelings for him, red-faced and embarrassed and him rejecting them one by one, refusing their gifts and letters. He didn't like to think that someone he had never even spoken to harbored feelings for him. Wakatoshi himself never thought of wanting to speak and spend time with someone- _anyone _outside of his practice schedule and classes. Girls were a totally unexplored concept for him, not that he cared. _They're so damn annoying_, he kept telling himself.

He didn't mind rejecting them. Some of them teared up and ran away, some of them were angry, their shy facade quickly turning into indignation. '_ What, am I not good enough for you? _' one asked as she grew visibly irritated. And Wakatoshi couldn't find anything else to say but this. '_I don't even know you. Go away. _'

Even then, he hadn't been talked back to. She had simply left the classroom as he sat at his assigned desk and he resumed what he was doing, which was probably far more important and interesting than the conversation he had just had with an unknown fangirl that he would never speak to again. Wakatoshi could still remember Tendo and Shirabu's voices echoing in the room as they gave him an exasperated look.

'Really, Wakatoshi-san? That was the_ hottest _third-year of the entire Academy and you still rejected her?' Shirabu's reproaching tone was shrugged off by the tall ace, who continued writing his English essay, unswayed by the second-year setter's comment.

'I don't care for her.' he replied. Tendo shook his head and sighed, looking at the brown-haired captain with a signature smirk that made Shirabu chuckle.

'Dude, you need to get laid. And telling girls to fuck off is not gonna help your case.'

Wakatoshi had stopped writing and had risen to his feet, grabbing his textbooks and walking towards his team's best middle blocker and setter with a deep scowl, the seriousness on his stoic face making Shirabu nervous. His olive eyes glared at his third-year teammates, Shirabu trembling.

'We have History in five minutes. Don't be late.' he said stoically, exiting the classroom and completely ignoring his teammates' input, leaving Tendo and Shirabu behind, simply grateful that Wakatoshi did not make them run laps outside for hours as a consequence for trying to inject themselves in his_ very _personal life.

Even _they _had been intimidated by him. But not **her**.

Wakatoshi ran faster, his legs burning from the effort he put into every stride, trying to clear his head. But obviously, today was a day where his brain just couldn't control the train of thoughts that decidedly was not stopping. He couldn't help but think of _her _again, this stranger with grey eyes that stood up to him even as he looked down on her with disdain, uncaring for who witnessed their conversation.

There was no fear in her eyes. She was not intimidated by his deep voice, his imposing stature, his standoffish demeanor nor his harsh words. And just by the way she responded to him, he knew the way he had dismissed her probably made her feel unimportant, insignificant.

_And he himself _**_hated_**_that feeling. _So why did he do it to her anyway?

As he ran down the road that led to the Academy, he couldn't help himself but feel a tinge of remorse at the words he said to the foreigner that him at Karasuno High, remorse that grew deeper as he remembered her apologizing and him not returning the favor. He had just ignored her.

Truth be told, he had been taken by surprise.

He had been completely stormed by the fact that she had not backed away like all the others. He could almost admire that trait of hers had it not been for her being_ utterly fucking annoying _on the way to the station, trying to converse with him when clearly he did not want anything to do with her. She was loud, spunky, had terrible manners and social etiquette- he had to remind himself that she was not from Japan- and stubborn, not to mention she had a terrifying amount of ear piercings that would make his grandmother scream to the Gods (Wakatoshi had counted four on each ear).

But there was no denying the simple fact that she appeared to be talented, a dedicated athlete that seemed to be fondly appreciated by her teammates (he could vaguely recall her team's small libero with her fists in the air calling out to fight him and the tall blond spiker giving him the middle finger before he left)- something that Wakatoshi couldn't even say for himself. Was he even a good captain? Was he liked and respected by his teammates? Would he ever experience that same feeling of endearment from people around him?

Why did she bother him so much?

He was doing it again. Thinking about her. **God damn it. **_She needs to get out of my head and fast_, he thought. _She's making me rethink everything. _

Wakatoshi Ushijima had finally made it to Shiratorizawa Academy, the clean and high campus buildings being a welcomed sight for the ace since he'd been studying here since middle school. This was home for Wakatoshi. Even more so than his mother's large penthouse downtown. He had been given a choice when he first made it into the Academy, but even looking at his mother reminded him of the painful memories of his father and he had decided then that a modest dorm room would be more comfortable than any other millionaire's house.

His remorse grew even deeper when he remembered what he had told this girl from who-knows-where before shutting the car door behind him.

_'Get home soon.' _

Wakatoshi Ushijima had terrible social skills, he himself was aware of it. Again, not that he cared. But just thinking about his dysfunctional family had made him realize that maybe this obnoxious and blunt foreign spiker was traveling so far away from where she came from just for volleyball because maybe, like him, she was uncomfortable in her own home too… Maybe this was her own little escape from a world he knew nothing of.

_Why am I doing this to myself? I'm overthinking things again_, he thought angrily_. It's not like I'm ever going to see her again to apologize. Just get over it. _

His legs were shaking and his body was covered in sweat beneath the thin layers of clothes he wore. But finally, his thoughts had somewhat cleared up and his mind was at peace again.

When he reached the boys' dormitories of the prestigious Shiratorizawa Academy, he headed straight to his room, not wanting to come across any of the members of his volleyball club. He was in no mood to talk. When he reached his dorm room, he quickly unlocked the door but then heard the voice of his teammate, Tendo Satori, resonating throughout the long hall calling out to him.

'Wakatoshi-kun, dear! There you are! I looked_ all over _for you!' said the tall lanky middle blocker, quickly approaching and too fast for the ace to have a chance to run away from him. Wakatoshi sighed and opened the door to his room, Tendo following him inside.

'You missed one hell of a card game. Fuckin' Semi tried to pull a quick one on me, but I'm just too smart for Blondie Boy. And poor Goshiki. He was the real loser in all of this. The kid couldn't cover the losing fees so he had to run in nothing but leggings outside along with the girl's track team.' he said before crashing on Wakatoshi's pristine bed, Shiratorizawa's ace spiker removing his damp jacket and shirt to then throw it them the laundry basket.

Wakatoshi shook his head, already regretting leaving Tendo to step inside. When were they going to stop traumatizing the first-years?

'Coach said to stop doing these things.' noted Wakatoshi as he removed his shirt. 'It's not good for the younger players' self-esteem.'

'Oh_ come on_, Wakatoshi.' he said with a chuckle. 'He was fine with it, I swear.' he said, winking coyly at the tall man before him. 'I think he even got a girl's number out of it. Not too bad considering that instead of paying what he owes, he instead had the chance wiggle his _dingling dong _in front of a team of hot chicks. ' he said, laughing. Tendo's laugh always made Wakatoshi feel uneasy as the tall middle blocker was sometimes very hard to read, even when he was visibly happy.

'We all went through it! Well, maybe except you- we never dared to piss _you _off. Not that the girls from the track team would be opposed to you running the field with them only wearing leggings, _would you look at yourself! _You're a damn fuckin' beast.' he said, pointing at the tall mirror behind Wakatoshi, his reflection catching the red-headed middle blocker's attention.

Wakatoshi had always been tall and muscular, even as a young teen. Now, at eighteen years old he towered over most and his large stature always caught the attention of the people around him. He looked at his half-naked body in the mirror, trying to see what Tendo found so special about him. The sharp, strong angular lines of his shoulders, defined pectorals and his slender yet muscular core and waist even made some of his teammates stare, calling him _'Japan's Adonis'. _Wakatoshi never saw himself as anything else but an athlete and was most humble when it came to his appearance, never mentioning the rigorous training regime he followed every day to keep in shape.

'I just work hard so my body can perform at its best, Tendo. Nothing more.'

His teammate laughed.

'Waka-kun, you should have more fun. Life is supposed to be fun! It's not always about eating enough fiber or having a 4.1 average. ' he exclaimed. 'So what did you do this morning, uh? Gone for a run, my lovely boy? Working those magnificent glutes?' he asked, grabbing the Shonen Jump from Wakatoshi's nightstand.

'Yeah.' replied Wakatoshi, sighing. 'I ran into the boys from Karasuno.' he continued. At the sound of his somber tone, Tendo dropped the magazine, surprise plastered on his face.

'Oh, really? How are the little crows doing these days? Not accidentally shot down by a pellet gun, I hope.' he said, sarcasm oozing from his mouth. Wakatoshi wondered if he should just end the conversation right there and then, but something inside him told him that telling Tendo about his rather disastrous morning couldn't hurt. Maybe it would help clear his head of this mess, who knows.

'They're training.' he replied. 'For Nationals.'

**_'Duh!'_**he replied, throwing the Shonen Jump on the bed. 'But I mean, what happened?' continued Tendo inquisitively.

Wakatoshi looked at the ground and exhaled deeply. 'They were preparing for the morning practice with the North American Women's Youth volleyball club.'

Tendo gasped, his eyes holding an interrogative look. '_The North American Women's Youth volleyball club?_ The girls that are going to represent North America in that fancy Youth World Tournament of yours? Pre-Olympic athletes? Damn son, what are they even doing here? And why are they being chummy-chummy with those losers? '

Wakatoshi had no answer for his teammate.

'I don't know, nor do I care.' he said, slowly walking towards the bathroom, in dire need of a hot shower.

He heard Tendo chuckle behind him. 'So… are they like, hot or something?' he asked. Wakatoshi grunted and closed his eyes, ready to just about kick out the 'Guess Monster' of his room. He wanted to say something back to the red-headed middle blocker (in the lines of _who gives a damn about that _), but no words escaped his lips. He simply chose not to answer.

But his troubled mind did for him.

**_Grey eyes._**

He sighed, annoyed.

'Get out, Tendo.'

And he closed the bathroom door behind him, hoping the warm water would wash away the color of rain from his mind.

* * *

It wasn't long before Katharine was back with a bagful of supplies from the sports store, her arms full of sports drinks, sports tape, new socks for the girl, hair bands, and anti-inflammatory pomades that made the girls smile when she entered the gym, followed by Keishin Ukai.

'It's Christmas time, ladies.' she said as Zofia, Maria, Elizabeth, Arissa, and Elia amassed around her, checking out the goods their captain had bought. Maria noticed the tape Katharine had bought for her was a vibrant green, her favorite color. Even when Katharine had had a bad day- a bad _morning_, rather- she always was very thoughtful for her teammates, knowing perfectly well that Elizabeth would only drink the yellow Gatorade and that Zofia always needed rubberized hairbands for her silky blond hair that never seemed to want to stay tucked in her ponytail. She had even picked out new knee pads for Arissa and Elia, who had neglected to buy a couple of pairs before leaving America.

'Tis' the most wonderful time of the year for sure.' replied Zofia, delighted with Katharine's purchases for her.

'You are a queen, Katharine.' said Elia as her captain gave her the pair of fresh new knee pads with a large smile.

'Couldn't find the Gucci ones though.' replied Katharine.

'That's fine, captain.' replied Elia. 'I'll settle for good ol' Mizuno's.' she replied. She heard Zofia chuckle behind her, playfulness in her icy-blue gaze.

'You'll settle for just about anything.' she said, smirking. Elia shrugged, her quick comebacks never too far behind a jab.

'I was about to say the same thing when I saw the guy you went out with in middle school, Zozo.'

A furious blush appeared across the Polish-American spiker's face and she quickly turned to Katharine, her icy-blue eyes sending her powerful glares.

_'You showed them Paul's profile? _**_You fucking traitor!'_**

Maria, Elia, and Arissa cackled at her embarrassed expression, Katharine giggling. 'I couldn't help myself, sorry.' she said, blowing her an innocent kiss.

She heard Zofia mumbling angrily under her breath. 'He's not even that bad looking, you assholes.' she said as she walked away, ignoring the rest of them to hide the painful, deep blush that decorated her pale cheeks, Elizabeth quietly following her as they joined with Daichi and Sawamura.

Maria hugged the Canadian spiker when she handed her the sports gear she had bought for her.

'_Te quiero, gatita_. You really think about everything. You know us so well.' The girls laughed when they heard Keishin groan, exhausted by the teenagers' morning theatrics.

'Poor Coach Ukai, he had to follow you around the store and everything.' Katharine giggled, her good mood had returned as she tried to forget her earlier encounter with Wakatoshi Ushijima. Katharine chased the image of his **_stupid face _**out of her mind, unwilling to let him ruin her day.

'You know what they say.' she said, shrugging it off. 'When in a bad mood-'

'Shop 'til you drop.' finished Arissa, winking at the Canadian spiker who nodded cheerfully.

'Exactly.'

'Well, now _I _am in a bad mood.' joked Ukai. 'And I want to get this practice going so can you do your little girly things later and get on the court please?' he asked, gesturing for the girls to hurry up and join the boys for morning practice. Katharine, Maria, and the twins happily joined in with the rest of the group before Keishin cleared his throat loudly.

'Alright, boys and girls. Gather around me, I need to count the lot of you for what comes next. And I think you'll like it- well, _some of you _.' said Ukai as the teenagers came to him. After he finished counting heads, a small smile appeared on the coach's face and he pulled out a small bag from his pocket, along with golf pencils and a sheet of paper.

'You are all going to write your name on a piece of paper and put it in this pouch. Since I counted sixteen of you- _Ennoshita, thanks for being late _**_again_**_to morning practice! _(the tall third-year blushed as he dropped his gear to the ground and joined in)- we'll draw lots to form teams. I want to see how well you can apply your skills in a pinch, last-minute situation like playing with strangers.' he said as the teenagers from Karasuno and the North American Women's Youth Volleyball team scribbled their names down, Hinata grinning.

'I hope I get to play with one of their wing spikers!' he said with stars in his eyes. His excitement made Tsukishima roll his eyes.

'Katharine and that tall blond girl Zofia look so cool.' he continued ranting to Kageyama in an overly excited tone. '_ It would be so awesome to play with them! _' His auburn eyes burned bright with anticipation. Shoyo Hinata was the kind of person that could not hide his emotions, positive or negative. And when he was stoked about something, the energy that emanated from him was contagious. It made Tobio Kageyama grin, his steely-blue eyes looking back at the short orange-haired middle blocker with the same kind of eagerness to play, minus the dumb look on his face.

'I wouldn't worry about playing with Zofia or Katharine if I were you.' he said, pointing at Arissa and Elia, the tallest players on the court. 'I'd worry about playing against_ them_. Good luck getting past that wall, _boke _.' Hinata's disappointed pout made Kei Tsukishima chuckle mockingly at the shorter Karasuno High player, a characteristic smirk decorating his lips.

'And considering they're a foot taller than him…' he started but got nudged by Daichi, who gave the lanky blond a reprimanding look. Hinata shivered at the sight of his expression, having dealt with it earlier that morning and not wanting to repeat that experience.

'Stop it, the three of you.' he scolded them with angry whispers. 'Don't lose your focus.'

Ukai put the small pieces of paper into the pouch and shook it well, grinning. He could see the look of excitement on the faces of the teenagers standing in front of him. The players that stood before him may be of different nationalities and backgrounds, but the love for the sport of volleyball is the one sure thing they all had in common and that would make the next practice match all the more interesting.

'Alright then. Let's see how this turns out…' he said, burrowing his hand in the pouch to pick out several pieces of paper and smiled when he saw the names scribbled on them. _Oh, this is going to be interesting, _he thought. **_Very_**_interesting indeed. Let's see how they react to this. _

'The luck of the draw has decided that the team wearing the yellow jerseys consists of…' he said, but he couldn't speak fast enough for Shoyo Hinata whose emotions got the better of him and he yelled out to his coach enthusiastically.

'Come on, **_hurry up _**_Coach! _I wanna know whose ass I'll be kicking!'

Ukai gave him a look. 'Well since you can't be bothered to wait for a second longer, please come up front and read out the names of the people _who you'll be kicking ass with _.' he said, Hinata suddenly turning red as his teammates cackled around him. Embarrassed (he never liked reading in front of people!), Hinata walked to Ukai who gave him the pile of papers, and when Hinata saw the names on them, he started to sweat profusely from anticipation, his legs shaking and his eyes wide and round as he looked at the crowd in front of him.

'Katharine, Zofia, Elizabeth, Nishinoya, Sugawara, Asahi, and Tadashi.' he said, his heart pounding in his chest at the thought of playing with Katharine and Zofia, the spikers for the North American Women's Youth volleyball club and their quiet yet intense setter that Kageyama told him he was curious about.

'Holy shit, we have the dream team when it comes to offense.' Nishinoya realized, smiling at Hinata who could hardly contain his excitement anymore, his entire body shaking in delight as he jumped in the air screaming **_'yesssssssss!' _**He heard Tsukishima chuckle as the tall blonde adjusted his glasses.

'It's all about being flashy to you, isn't it Hinata? Playing with big, strong spikers. It always was a dream of yours.'

The short orange-haired middle blocker smiled back at Tsukishima, who loathed the simple and happy look on the short middle blocker's face. _What a clown,_ he thought.

'Well, maybe not just about that. But it's really cool anyway! You're just jealous because I get to play with them and you're stuck with Kageyama.' he said, giving his practice teammates a thumbs up while Kageyama and Tsukishima glared at one another.

'I can't believe I've actually been teamed up with you again, _'ultimate twat'_. Kageyama let out in an angry sigh, catching Tsukishima's attention, his shit-eating smirk growing wider.

'Sounds like you're in love with me, _Tobio-chan_. Please don't get too excited, we have a match to play.' he mocked the tall blue-eyed setter, Kageyama balling his fists in anger as Tanaka held him back. 'Calm down, bro.' he told him, making Hinata giggle.

'Yeah, chill out Bakayama! We all know whose team hits the hardest here, I see you being all jealous and stuff.' said Hinata, his words making the tall setter chuckle in arrogance.

'And _we _have the dream team when it comes to defense, **_boke.'_** replied Kageyama, his growing smirk making Hinata giggle nervously considering the opposite team was made up of Tsukishima, Arissa, Elia, Ennoshita, Kageyama, Daichi, Tanaka, and Maria. All players on that team are known to either possess extremely good receiving abilities or god-like blocking skills (in Hinata's words)- Katharine could tell. There was no doubt that the luck of the draw wanted to test both the Karasuno High players and the girls from the North American Women's Youth volleyball club, seeing as it was their first time ever since being grouped together to not play together.

That made Katharine excited. After months of playing with these girls, she'd finally be able to test herself against them.

'Well, let's just hope Arissa and Elia are having an exceptionally good morning and not feeling vindictive because having these two on the opposite vanguard at the same time could possibly majorly suck for us.' Katharine said to Zofia, who sighed in return.

'I'm more annoyed at the fact that Maria will probably dig all of our spikes but yeah, go ahead on worrying about the twins. I'm just hoping Maria's too busy looking at our favorite setter boy's_ assets _than the ball.'

The girls heard one of the boys scream excitedly, his voice echoing throughout the gymnasium. Tanaka got riled up again, swinging his shirt around and exposing his chest, making Elizabeth squeak in embarrassment at the same time. She quickly turned around and walked towards Katharine and Zofia, who also was taken aback by the second-year spiker's bravado.

'He's got abs.' Zofia pointed out blankly. 'Nice.'

'He's too bashful.' replied Elizabeth. 'I'm highly unimpressed. But apparently, he's a good all-rounder. I'm a little nervous now.' she admitted. Katharine knew the look in Elizabeth's eyes.

She had that look before every game.

'Hey.' she softly called out to Elizabeth. 'I'm not worried in the least.' Elizabeth's green eyes looked at her interrogatively as she kneaded her volleyball plush.

'Know why?' the Canadian spiker continued. Elizabeth shook her head. 'Because we've got _you_.'

Zofia nodded softly at Elizabeth's sudden lack of words, agreeing with her captain on just how important the Texan setter was to their team.

'Tobio Kageyama may be as good as he is, but I've missed you setting for us, Elizabeth. No one truly knows how to toss to us as you do. And I wouldn't exchange that for anything else in the world.' replied the usually cold and sarcastic Polish-American spiker, even taking Katharine by surprise.

'That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say, Zofia. Are you sick?' Zofia rolled her eyes, ending this moment of bonding between the shy setter, the blunt spiker, and herself.

'Don't get used to it. It's not like I actually _like _any of y'all. I'm just trying to lighten the mood, ok?' she said, looking away from Katharine and Elizabeth to avert their gaze. And then that's when Zofia caught sight of Maria, who was now joining in with her practice team, giving shy looks at Tobio Kageyama's back who seemed to be getting annoyed with the tall blond middle blocker of his team as they exchanged nasty looks to one another, calling each other 'idiot' and 'asshole.'

Zofia could already tell that Maria was over the moon with this practice arrangement, her soft brown eyes never leaving Tobio's sight as she rolled the sports tape around her fingers and her elbow.

'Looks like you winded up with your precious Tobio after all…' sang Zofia, her voice making Maria blush a thousand shades of red, her middle finger quickly rising in the air, her brown eyes sending angry glares back at the Polish-American spiker from across the court.

_'Stop that!' _she angrily mouthed to her, making the spiker giggle. _'You're embarrassing me! They don't need to know this!' _she continued, the blush on her cheeks making her freckles the more apparent as Zofia read on her lips, Maria not wanting the rest of the boys to hear. As the two teams walked to their respective side of the court, Nishinoya, Sugawara, Asahi, Tadashi, and Hinata joined with Katharine, Elizabeth, and Zofia all put on their yellow practice jerseys.

'This sure is not my color.' replied Zofia. 'I feel like a big ol' lemon.'

'You know what they say when life gives you lemons.' replied Katharine, making Sugawara smile, his pearly white teeth on display for all to see.

'You make lemonade?' he tried. Zofia chuckled and shook her head, smirking.

'No. _You cut them open and you squeeze the juice in your opponent's eyes. _' she replied, suddenly making the air around them grow thicker with the heavy silence that her twisted humor caused. Katharine laughed nervously, nudging Zofia's arms in embarrassment.

_'Be nice!'_ she hissed. 'They don't know you don't mean what you say just yet. We wouldn't want our new friends to think we're crazy_ before _we get to play together, you psycho.' she said, turning to Sugawara who simply laughed back, Asahi putting a strong hand over his best friend's shoulder.

'Do we have a plan, Suga? How should we handle this game? We're playing shorter sets since there's not a whole lot of us. And we're not really strong on the defense here. They have a massive advantage over us when it comes to blocking and receiving. Not to mention that little libero of theirs… I don't know what she can do yet, but I bet you she's not going to let us spike without putting up a fight.'

Sugawara had to concede it to Asahi. They were in a bind. 'Yeah, I know we don't have the best defensive players but-'

'_HEY! _What about me, ya dicks? I'm plenty strong enough to take them on!' replied Nishinoya.

'You're our only player that specializes in defense, Nishinoya. I'm not a spiker, so I'll focus on receiving myself. And since you're not going to be on the court for the entire game… Look, we don't have a whole lot of options, here.' said Sugawara, the rest of the team playing close attention to him.

'It's no secret that our strategy is to mostly rely on our powerful attacks. The luck of the draw did give us Asahi, Katharine, Zofia, and Hinata. That's enough horsepower to give us a fighting chance. But we have to be meticulous not only on how hard we hit but _where _and on _who _we send our spikes to. We either let them intimidate us with their awesome defensive and blocking skills… or we strategize who we sent our cannonballs to in order to make their big wall crumble.'

Hinata's eyes glowed with passion. 'Wow, you're so smart Sugawara-senpai!' he said, followed by Katharine.

'A great strategist you seem to be, young padawan.' she said to him. 'I'm impressed.'

He gave her a warm smile. 'Well, that's_ my _thing. And since I'm not setting today, I had a plan for Elizabeth.' he said as he looked straight at her. 'You need to toss these sets so fast to us they don't have time to react, that'll be our saving grace. We have to use our instincts. Overthinking the tosses will only give them more time to prepare for our attacks. We have to hit hard and fast before they even get a chance to strategize a plan to block us or receive our hits. Think you can manage, Elizabeth?'

She nodded shyly. 'Good.'

'So who are we sending them to?' asked Hinata.

Sugawara and Katharine looked at each other and smiled devilishly, their brains wavelengths connecting ever so naturally as they turned their heads to look at the one possible player on the other side of the court that had fewer chances of receiving their ramming offense: Tobio Kageyama.

'He may be one of the most experienced players here, but a defensive bastion _he is not._' replied Sugawara. 'Looking at the team on the other side of the court, he's the one player that does not specialize in defense or blocking. He's a setter. _He sets. _And he's not setting to powerful attackers- maybe except Tanaka but **not** to Hinata- which is the one thing he particularly excels at. That will surely throw him off his game.'

Katharine nodded. 'And we also have a strong setter- as precise and intuitive as he is. They just don't know about that- except for Maria.'

'Not to mention that two of our players specialize in serves.' continued Sugawara, as he looked and pointed at Tadashi. 'He's our pinch server. Yamaguchi always comes in handy when we're in a bind and we need to switch things up to change the momentum of the game.' he said to the girls as they absorbed his words.

'This is so exciting! I can't wait to spike!' screamed Hinata. 'And do a _whoosh _and _bam! _'

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. 'I don't know what that means.' she stated.

**'You know!' **he exclaimed, gesturing to her how he liked to receive the ball. 'Kageyama usually sends the ball to me in an angle in which I can decide where I want to hit the ball, it just seems to stop right in front of me before I hit. I don't know how he does it but this is the best spike for me! It feels **so** good against the palm of my hand, like _whoosh_, you know?'

Elizabeth's green eyes stared at him as she listened to him, as she observed him.

She analyzed all of Shoyo Hinata in an instant, what kind of player he was, what kind of temperament he possessed, his height, his energy, his _everything_. Behind those beautiful green eyes of hers, the wheels were spinning and fast. Her brain had gone into overdrive, memorizing the spring in his step, the way his hands moved, the way his auburn eyes sparkled with passion.

And then she smiled, one of the rare smiles that almost never was seen on the Texan's lips.

'I understand _perfectly _this time around.' she replied to him, her eyes now focused, her expression sharp.

Katharine smiled. 'Well then, aiming for Kageyama sounds like a plan. But what about the tight corners? Not only do they have Daichi but they also have Maria, a top-class libero that can stop any tank spikes on any day of the week. We've seen it.' replied Katharine, Zofia nodding.

'All we can do for this is to be as precise as we can and to send the ball in the deep court. As far as you can manage. As close to the court lines as possible. As tightly to the corners of the court as you can. Let's not give them a chance to bounce back on our spikes. And when we have them running around the court to dig our bomb-like spikes, that's when we'll have an opening to snatch the win.' concluded Sugawara.

Keishin Ukai smiled as he saw his two practice teams formulate a plan to defeat the other. He himself was excited to see just how things would unravel for the boys of Karasuno High and the girls from the North American Women Youth volleyball club, who had been pitted against one another in a true battle of concepts- _a destructive offense _against _the ultimate defense. _

**And may the best team win. **


End file.
